The Olympic Games, summer and winter, are prime for countries to issue stamps honoring the occasion and featuring events connected with the competition.
The XVII Winter Olympics will be held in Lillehammer, Norway, with the opening ceremonies set for Feb. 12, 1994. It will be the first time the Winter Games have not been scheduled during the same year as the Summer Olympiad.Many countries are currently issuing stamps depicting scenes from previous Winter Olympics. Among the issuing nations with an interesting souvenir sheet is the Maldives, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean.
One 8-rufiyas stamp shows Marina Kiehl of West Germany, winner of the Women's Downhill Alpine Skiing event at the 1988 Games in Calgary, Canada. A 15-rufiyas stamp shows Vegard Ulvang of Norway, victor in the 1992 Cross-Country Skiing event at Albertville, France.
The souvenir sheet of 25 rufiyas portrays an action scene in the 1980 Ice Hockey Tournament in Lake Placid, N.Y., in which the underdog U.S. team defeated the Soviet Union and captured the gold medal.
The Maldives' stamps are available from: The Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corp., 460 W. 34th St., New York, N.Y. 10001.
- Syd Kronish