Olympic organisers today unveiled images of the first London2012 stamps. The set of ten sporting rectangles goes on sale on 22 October. Designs carry the London2012 logo and represent canoe slalom, track events, aquatics, judo, badminton, weightlifting and basketball, as well as equestrian, bocchia and archery from the Paralympics. Seb Coe, perhaps working up more enthusiasm than a set of gummy parallelograms deserves, calls the initiative 'a huge honour', and 'a wonderful way to celebrate the London 2012 Games', as though there was ever any doubt about the commemoration. This is just the first in a trio of philatelic deployments over the next three years. Other issues in 2010 and 2011 will highlight further sporting and cultural aspects of the greatest show on Earth. Will the Olympic spirit, manifesting into sticky squares, help settle the ongoing dispute between the Royal Mail and staff unions?
