7 August : The UN postal service announced on Wednesday that it would issue a set of six commemorative stamps designed by a South American artist to mark the 2008Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The stamps will be released on Friday to coincide with the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and centre around the theme of "Sport for Peace."
"In spite of differences in colours, languages and races, we share the charm, and joy of the Olympic Games, and together we seek the ideal of humankind for peace," the UN Postal Administration said a statement.
The six stamps were designed by Brazilian pop-artist Romero Britto, whose colourful, bold designs have been featured in international advertising campaigns including
Absolut Vodka, Pepsi and Microsoft.
This is Britto’s second set of stamp designs for the United Nations.In 1999, he designed six commemorative stamps on the theme of education in the 21st century.