An International Gallery of Stamps, A Herald for Beijing Olympic Games

（奥运会相关文化介绍）

Chairman of Cultural and Olympic Education Committee of IOC

He Zhenliang

Olympics has its origin in Athens of ancient Greece , and has been closely related with stamps since its birth. As early as 1896 when Athens held the first modern Olympic Games, the host country Greece issued a set of 12 stamps with the ancient Olympic Games as its theme, which was the beginning of Olympic stamps. Due to Greece 's insufficient fund to run the games, this set of stamps was sold at a price higher than its face value. A great amount of money was raised out of it to ensure the successful hosting of the first Olympic Games. That's why we have the anecdote that “sports stamps saved the Olympics”. Since then, Olympic stamps have become a unique landscape of Olympic Games. Guest counties have also started to join in the issue of Olympic stamps besides the host countries. In 1985, at the suggestion of Juan Antonio Samaranch, then Chairman of the International Olympic Committee(IOC), the Olympic Stamp Exhibition kicked off simultaneously with the Olympic Games, and has never stopped since then. The exhibition makes more stamp-collectors understand and love the Olympic Games, and makes Olympic spirits more popularized in the world in a subtle manner.

In addition to supporting the Olympic Games financially, Olympic stamps also play a never-to-be-ignored role in distributing the Olympic spirits and concepts as well as passing the Olympic culture down to the next generation. Beautifully designed and carrying their unique local cultures, these Olympic stamps not only deliver the Olympic culture into every corner of the world, but showcase the cultures of the issue countries. Thus they boost the communication between different countries, and win the love of stamp-collectors all over the world. Besides, as the vehicle of the Olympic culture, Olympic stamps have an intrinsic artistic value, which is shining glamorously in the history of Olympics. These tiny yet beautiful stamps make people of the whole world, especially teenagers, feel the charm of Olympics.

荟萃世界邮花 迎接北京奥运

国际奥委会文化和奥林匹克教育委员会主席 何振梁

古代奥运会起源于古希腊。现代奥运会从诞生起就与邮票结下了不解之缘。 1896 年现代第一届奥运会主办国希腊发行了一套 12 枚以古代奥运会历史为题材的邮票，这是奥运邮票的开端。当时为弥补经费不足，这套邮票高于面值出售，为第一届奥运会筹集到了大量资金，使得奥运会顺利进行。所以有 “ 体育邮票拯救了奥运会 ” 之称。此后，奥运邮票成为奥运会的一道独特风景，除主办国外，其他国家也纷纷发行奥运纪念邮票。 1985 年，在时任国际奥委会主席的萨马兰奇的倡议下，奥林匹克邮展开始与奥林匹克运动同步进行，历届不断。邮展使更多的集邮者了解奥运会，热爱奥运会，也让奥林匹克精神在潜移默化中更加深入人心。

除了在经济上给与奥运会鼎力支持外，奥运邮票在奥运精神弘扬、奥运理念传播、奥运文化传承等方面所做的贡献，起了重要作用。这些设计精美、地域文化特色鲜明的奥运邮票，不仅在世界各地传播着奥林匹克文化，还展示着邮票发行国的本国特色文化、增进了各国之间的交流，受到全世界集邮爱好者的青睐。此外，作为奥运文化载体的邮票，其本身的艺术性也在奥运历史的长河中熠熠发光。它让世界各地的人们，尤其是青少年朋友在赏心悦目的方寸之间，感受到奥林匹克的魅力。