The Law Games: London2012- Where a stamp is more than a stamp

A slightly different post for the latest instalment of #TheLaw Games. In fact, less of a post more a rant- but hey, I started the Law Games as an outlet for my frustrations! 

While the nation has been caught up in the rapture of an historic medal haul for TeamGB which shows no sign of abating, the Royal Mail has been busily producing individual commemorative stamps for each of the Gold Medal winners. With uncharacteristic speed and reliability, no sooner has the final chord of the national anthem been struck than the printing presses are whirling into action.

Now, whilst I have been enjoying all the sporting revelry, I can't help but think that the Paralympic Games will not benefit from the same popular fervour when they kick off on 29th August. My cynicism was stoked further listening to TalkSport earlier this week to hear the presenters speculate over when the Paralympics started and whether or not it would have its own Opening Ceremony! (It does). And then I read that the Royal Mail will not be producing the same stamps for TeamGB paralympians who bring home the Gold. Instead, there will be a series of stamps where gold medallists will have shared stamps produced in their honour.

So what?! I hear you cry. And maybe you're right. Winners will still get an honorary gold postbox in their home towns and a share in a £200,000 prize pot the Royal Mail is putting together and most importantly, they will always have their medal(s). The point is bigger than that. It's apparently small things like this that reinforce a sense that those with disabilities are not considered to be on par with everyone else; that somehow the achievement of our sportsmen and women with disabilities warrants less attention; that the individual acclaim afforded to the members of TeamGB thus far can be limited to collective celebration for our paralympians.

In their defence (and I use the term loosely), the Royal Mail have said on the ParalympicGB website :

"This is not the exactly the same as Team GB where each gold medal winning performance is commemorated by a stamp but this is for a very good reason. In Beijing, ParalympicsGB won 42 gold medals over 10 days of competition, including nine in one day, and we are expecting a similarly world-class level of performance from our athletes this time around. As a result, it is logistically and practically impossible for Royal Mail to produce an individual stamp for every one of the gold medallists for ParalympicsGB."

So essentially, ParalympicsGB are too successful for the Royal Mail. I'll leave you to answer the obvious question, why not just take a little longer to produce the stamps?

The feats we have seen during these games will doubtlessly inspire a surge in participation in sport and fitness, something that was at the forefront of the pre-Games sales pitch. The same potential must be allowed to flourish from a Paralympic games that already commands record ticket sales. London 2012 is an unprecedented opportunity to highlight, celebrate and promote our athletes with disabilities, not with platitudes and cliches but for their skill and talent. It must not be lost.