This will be the first time ever that a set of stamps have been issued to celebrate Paralympic gold medallists from the host country.

Each set of stamps will feature a different group of individual Paralympic gold medal winners and will cost £3.60 ($5.60/€4.50).

They will be on sale from September 27 in more than 5,200 post offices across the country.

In addition, the Royal Mail will issue a set of stamps to celebrate the start of the Paralympic Games on August 29, the day of the Opening Ceremony.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson (pictured), Britain's 11-time Paralympic wheelchair racing champion, welcomed the announcement as a huge boost for Paralympic sport.

"I'm delighted that Royal Mail will be producing stamps to celebrate the nation's gold medals at the Paralympic Games this summer," said Baroness Tanni.

"Royal Mail stamps have become an integral part of the Paralympic legacy in the UK.

"The return of the Paralympic Games to the UK makes it an even more special event and I look forward to celebrating every win with the team."

Royal Mail has a long association with the British Paralympic Association (BPA), becoming the offcial sponsor of the British Olympic and Paralympic teams at the Barcelona 1992 Games.


This year, in support of ParalympicsGB, the Royal Mail will be giving £200,000 ($310,900/€251,100) to the BPA to be shared equally among all ParalympicsGB gold medallists.

"Commemorating our gold medallists' achievements on a set of stamps is a first in the history of the Paralympic Games," said BPA chief executive Tim Hollingsworth.

"It is a fitting tribute which demonstrates how far the movement has come in recent times.

"Royal Mail has been a friend of the BPA for a long time.

"We are grateful to them for their significant contribution of £200,000 [$310,900/€251,100] to help support all of our Paralympians gold medal winners."

Moya Greene, the chief executive of Royal Mail, said the postal service were delighted to be making this latest announcement.

"We are excited to be announcing our Paralympics Gold Medal stamps programme and proud to be the first postal administration to recognise its country's Paralympians in this way," said Greene.

"The stamps will be a wonderful way for people across the country to celebrate ParalympicsGB's gold medal wins and help mark their amazing achievement.

"Royal Mail is proud to be involved in this once in a lifetime event and to provide financial support to the UK's talented athletes."

At the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, ParalympicsGB won 42 gold medals to finish second on the medal table but are expected to beat that total at London 2012.

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