09.02.2012

Latvijas Pasts opens exhibition of stamps of 2011 and begins contest to determine the most beautiful stamp

Along with the opening of the exhibition of the stamps issued in 2011 in shopping mall Galerija Centrs, 16 Audēju Street, Riga, the voting for the most beautiful stamp of 2011 has commenced. It is possible to vote by sending in a printed form or using a special website, or by using the possibilities of modern technologies right at the exhibition. Each voter is entered in a lottery, with the winner receiving the opportunity to design their own personalized stamps at Latvijas Pasts.

It will be possible to choose the most beautiful stamp among the 23 stamps issued by Latvijas Pasts in 2011 - the terms & conditions of the competition, voting forms, and the pictures of all stamps will be available in the newspaper Latvijas Avīze of February 6^th, 15^th and 21^st, and in the magazine Mājas Viesis on February 10^th. The voting forms can be mailed free of charge by using the services of Latvijas Pasts. Electronic voting forms, along with the stamp pictures and descriptions, are available at www.gadapastmarka.lv and www.la.lv.

Fans of modern technologies will have the opportunity to cast their vote right at the exhibition in Galerija Centrs by using their smartphone - it will be possible to scan the QR code printed next to the stamp, visit the linked website, and vote for the stamp you find the most attractive.

The competition will run through February 26 - the exhibition in Galerija Centrs will also be open until this date. Each voter will automatically be entered in a sweepstake with valuable post-related prizes - an opportunity to design a personalized stamp, or a full set of the stamps issued by Latvijas Pasts in 2011.

Latvijas Pasts issues an average of 15 new stamp series each year, with their total print run reaching several million. In 2011, Latvijas Pasts issued 23 new stamps in 18 series, with the total number of stamps printed approaching 7 million. The Christmas series stamp with a denomination of LVL 0.35 was the most popular - 2,000,000 of these stamps were printed. The stamp issue plan for each year is approved by the Stamp Issue Commission, however in 2011, for the first time in Latvia, Latvijas Pasts urged everyone to submit their own stamp design, and a winner was determined through voting on social networks. The winning stamp was released with a print run of 500,000 in January 2012. In 2012, Latvijas Pasts is planning to issue at least 26 new stamp designs and print approximately 17 million stamps.

The stamp is the universal symbol of mail. It is affixed to postal items - letters, parcels, and postcards - as evidence of payment of postage. The first stamp was issued in Britain in 1840. Three years later, a stamp was issued by Switzerland, and the USA followed in 1847. The first stamp in the territory of present-day Latvia appeared in 1857, while the Republic of Latvia as a sovereign state issued its first stamp in 1918.

About SJSC Latvijas Pasts

Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides philately, transport and express mail, financial intermediation, payment, press subscription and retail services. Latvijas Pasts is a fully state-owned company with approximately 4,600 employees.

Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa,
SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Head of the External Communications Department
Phone: +371 67608505
E-mail: gundega.varpa@pasts.lv