New Issue: Winter Olympics (Estonia)
- Xanthe Page
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Yesterday Estonia released a new stamp to celebrate Team Estonia's participation in the Winter Olympics next month. There is just one stamp in this issue and it shows a figure skater, some curlers and a slalom skier. I don't know if these represent actual Estonian athletes or whether they are just generic pictures. Team Estonia has been quite successful at the Winter Olympics in the past and since 1992 it has won eight medals including four golds (in cross-country and freestyle skiing).
The WOPA website tells us more about this stamp: "The Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games will take place in Italy from February 6 to 22. For Estonia, the Winter Olympics mean taking part in the world’s largest winter-sports competition, where our country’s name and flag stand in the spotlight of tradition and international attention. For a small nation, reaching the Olympics is in itself a major achievement—one that many countries have still not attained. "For this reason, the Winter Olympics are also a benchmark of visibility and continuity for Estonia, inspiring today’s youth to aim high. Did you know that Estonia only began depicting the Winter Olympics on postage stamps in 1994, when the first stamp on this theme was issued? Today’s stamp is already the fourteenth, and the series will be expanded again on February 26 with the release of a Winter Paralympics stamp."
No, until today I didn't know this was the fourteenth Estonian stamp about the Winter Olympics, but I did know that modern Estonia didn't begin issuing stamps until 1991 so it's not too surprising. Obviously creating stamps for the Winter Olympics has become something of a tradition. This got me thinking and I had to check to make sure I was correct. How many stamps have Royal Mail issued for the Winter Olympics? I couldn't think of any so I've had a look and I was absolutely right. Zero. Zilch. Summer Olympics? Yes, in 1948, 1992 and several issues in 2012. Paralympics? Yes, also in 1992 and 2012. World Student Games? Yes, in 1991. Commonwealth Games? Of course, six times! Clearly the Winter Olympics don't matter so much here in GB, but Estonia is very proud of their team. (And yes, I know most of the Games above were all held in the UK, but that shouldn't stop Royal Mail supporting our athletes. It certainly isn't a problem for Estonia and wasn't an issue in 1992 when the Summer Olympics were in Barcelona. So please Royal Mail.... give us some Winter Olympics stamps!) Design Quality - The designer has tried to get a lot onto one stamp. We have four athletes playing three different sports, the Olympics logo and the Team Estonia logo. It all feels quite crowded. The artwork feels a bit basic too. I don't feel it is as good as some of the past designs. 4/10
Theme and Subject Choice - Great subject choice - it's a big thing in Estonia. Clearly they have a small but quite successful Winter Olympic team and they want to show support to their athletes. It's part of a long-running series going back to 1994 and I think it's a great thing that it will continue for (hopefully) many more years. 9/10
Historical and Cultural Relevance - The fact this is the fourteenth Estonia stamp dedicated to the Winter games tells you how how historically and culturally relevant it is. It is part of a series going back over 30 years so it would feel wrong not to have another issue for this year. 9/10
Innovation and Creativity - The design is not brilliant and I'm afraid I don't feel any creativity or innovation here. It's not bad, just not imaginative. 1/10
Collectability - It's part of a historical series that is continuing to grow, which makes it collectable. A lot of people like sports stamps and particularly Olympics stamps. 8/10
Personal appeal - I'm not a big fan of this particular stamp but I definitely like the idea of creating a new stamp for every Winter games. I wouldn't buy this stamp on its own but I would like to have it in a collection of Estonian Olympic stamps going all the way back to 1994. It feels like a small piece of a jigsaw celebrating many years of sporting history. 6/10
Overall score - 37/60
Here are the designs of previous Estonian stamps celebrating the Winter Olympics:
That is quite a nice series with great variety of designs. It's interesting that it's taken 32 years and nine different Winter Olympics to create 14 stamps, when the average Royal Mail set now has at least 14 stamps! Which of these Estonia stamps is your favourite?
Comments