8 January 2010 

The international stamp exhibition, London 2010, part of the Festival of Stamps, will open at the Business Design Centre in London’s Islington at 10am on Saturday, May 8. The exhibition will run until Saturday, May 15, being open from 10am to 6pm each day, except May 15 when it will close at 5pm.

Admission will be free except on the opening day. The cost of admission on May 8 will be £10 (children accompanied by an adult will be admitted free). First day tickets are now available for purchase. This can be by post, by cheque drawn in Sterling payable on a British bank, made out to Stamp World Exhibitions, and sent to London 2010 (First Day Tickets), Suite 101, Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, London N1 0QH.

Alternatively tickets can be ordered online paying by PayPal at £10.50 each (to cover charges) from www.london2010.org.uk.

All tickets must be ordered by April 19: no requests for advance tickets will be accepted after that date. Tickets will be sent by post on April 19 (although overseas visitors will be sent their tickets on April 12 on payment of an additional £1 to cover airmail postage). All those ordering tickets must therefore provide a clear name and address to which tickets should be sent.

Once tickets have been ordered, no refunds will be possible. Equally tickets must be presented to gain admission to the exhibition.

Tickets may also be purchased at the exhibition on May 8, subject to availability. However, those with advance tickets will be able to enter the exhibition prior to those buying tickets on the day.

Visitors should bear in mind that the competitive exhibits will be shown in two sections. As always there was a huge demand to exhibit in London, with applications to fill more than double the number of frames available. On May 8 to 11 on display will be the entries in the Traditional, Postal Stationery, Revenue, One-Frame and Youth classes; on May 12 to 15 on show will be the exhibits in the Postal History, Aerophilately and Thematic Philately classes. Visitors should note that it will not be possible to view the display frames after 3pm on May 11 and May 15.

The Business Design Centre is conveniently situated with several bus routes passing the door, and Angel Station on the Northern Line on London’s Underground just a short walk away. The area boasts many shops and bars, plus fine restaurants, making it ideal for all coming to London for this exhibition.

- Ends -

 Media contacts:

Richard West, Press Officer, London International Stamp Exhibition

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Jenny Karlsson, PR & Communications Officer

The British Postal Museum & Archive, www.postalheritage.org.uk

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , phone: 020 7239 2574

Notes for editors:  

• London 2010: Festival of Stamps is a year-long programme of exhibitions, events and activities, which aim to showcase, celebrate and raise public awareness of stamps, stamp design and postal heritage. 
• The festival includes a major international stamp exhibition in May at the Business Design Centre, Islington for stamp collectors.  This is supported by Royal Mail, who will also be issuing special stamps. 
• The British Postal Museum & Archive is co-ordinating wider festival events and activities at venues across London and beyond, including a major exhibition, ‘Empire Mail: George V and the GPO’ at Guildhall Art Gallery, City of London, showcasing material from both the BPMA and the Royal Philatelic Collection. 
• London 2010: Festival of Stamps partner venues include the British Library, the British Museum, Bath Postal Museum, Bletchley Park, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum The Royal Philatelic Society, Twickenham World Rugby Museum and many others. 
• London 2010: Festival of Stamps will extend nationally through special stamps shows and activities organised by regional member federations of the Association of British Philatelic Societies (ABPS).  
• Find out more at www.london2010.org.uk