The history and legacy of Olympic Stamps

Stamps for the upcoming Paris Olympics were unveiled in March this year. They celebrate the city’s rich heritage and iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the River Seine.

Olympics Paris 2024 stamps at the site of the Olympic village, where the athletes will be housed in Saint-Denis, a nearby suburb of Paris. | Photo Credit: AFP

Stamps and the Olympic Games have had an enduring relationship since the event’s modern inception. Olympic stamps have not only been a collectible or an item of curiosity but have also helped host countries finance the event.

The Greek government had issued a series of 12 stamps on the opening day of the inaugural Olympic Games in 1896. The preceding year, the government had issued a series of commemorative stamps to help the Organising Committee of the Games fund the construction of the last four venues for the inaugural Olympics.

Stamps for the upcoming Paris Olympics were unveiled in March this year. They celebrate the city’s rich heritage and iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the River Seine. They also commemorate a century since the last Summer Olympics were held in Paris, back in 1924. They measure 31 x 52 mm and are priced at 1.96 euros for international postage.

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Interestingly, France’s postal service company, La Poste, issued a scratch-and-sniff stamp in May to highlight the country’s heritage ahead of the Olympics. The stamp features France’s iconic ‘baguette’, a long loaf of bread, and customers will be able to relish the bakery item’s aroma by rubbing it.

Special stamps inside the post office during the media visit of Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic village. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Though stamps were issued for the inaugural Olympic Games in 1896, the custom wasn’t followed for the following three editions of the event (1900, 1904 and 1908). The tradition was revived in 1912 for the Stockholm Games, and even though the Berlin Games in 1916 were cancelled because of the First World War, stamps were curiously issued for that edition, too.

In 1920, Belgium helped finance the hosting of the Games by issuing three stamps, and every host nation since that year has produced Olympic stamps. In 1924, Uruguay became the first non-host country to issue Olympic stamps. It did so to celebrate its football team’s gold medal.

Currently, about 100 nations issue Olympic stamps for the Summer Games, and around 40 for the Winter Games.  

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently announced an Official IOC Catalogue of Olympic Stamps that showcases more than 26,300 stamps issued for the event since 1896.