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Issued on: 16 Jul, 2009
The first world games were held in Santa Clara, USA in 1981. The subsequent games were hosted by London, England; Karlsruhe, Germany; the Hague in the Netherlands; Lahti, Finland; Akita, Japan; and Duisburg, Germany. The eighth World Games will be held in Kaohsiung from July 16 to 26, 2009. To commemorate this grand sporting event, Chunghwa Post is issuing a set of two stamps and a souvenir sheet featuring the Kaohsiung Arena and the Main Stadium for the World Games. The designs of the stamps follow:
1.
Kaohsiung Arena (NT$5.00): This modernistic gym is equipped with standard Olympic facilities, making it a
great venue for basketball and volleyball games as well as 200-meter races in indoor track and field. On the lower right of the stamp are the mascots of the World Games 2009 Kaohsiung: Kao Mei and Syong Ge. Dressed in red and blue respectively, these “water spirit” babies have a water drop for a head. Their bodies will light up after absorbing solar energy with the little spheres on their heads. The design reflects a concern for international issues such as green energy and environmental protection.
2.
The Main Stadium for the World Games (NT$12.00): The Main Stadium was built to the standards of an IAAF (the International Association of Athletics Federations) Class I certified international sports stadium. The open-air design does away with the need for air conditioning. This avant-garde architecture will be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Games 2009 Kaohsiung. On the lower right of the stamp is the games’ logo — a stylized Chinese character Kao (as in Kaohsiung), “written” in a colorful and rhythmic flowing ribbon, resembling the beautiful shapes of athletes in competition. The design aims to convey the concepts of “harmony, friendship, rhythm, flight, progress and joy.”
首屆世界運動會於1981年在美國的聖塔克拉拉舉行。其後各屆主辦城市分別為英國倫敦、德國卡里斯魯、荷蘭海牙、芬蘭拉提、日本秋田及德國杜伊斯堡。第8 屆世界運動會將於98年7月16日至26日在高雄正式登場。為紀念此一運動盛會，本公司特以綜合體育館及世運主場館為主題，發行「2009高雄世界運動會 紀念郵票」1組2枚及小全張1張。茲簡介本組郵票圖案如下：
一、
綜合體育館（面值5元）：高雄綜合體育館（通稱小巨蛋）是一座符合奧運設施標準的 現代化體育館，可供籃球、排球比賽及200公尺距離室內田徑賽使用。郵票右下方之2009高雄世界運動會吉祥物是一對分別有著紅藍身軀的水精靈寶寶「高 妹」與「雄哥」，頭部造型像個小水滴，頭上的小球吸收太陽能後，身體就會發光，傳達著對綠色能源、環境保護等國際議題的關心。
二、
世運主場館（面值12元）：世運主場館為符合國際田徑總會一級認證標準的國際性運動場館。開放式的體育場不需空調卻自然通風，造型前衛而特殊，為2009高雄世界運動會 開、閉幕典禮的場地。郵票右下方之2009高雄世界運動會標誌是以「高」字為藍圖，以五彩繽紛、律動彩帶樣貌呈現的字型，宛如選手比賽時亮麗身影，傳達 「和諧、友誼、律動、飛躍、進步、歡樂」的概念。
Source of the materials:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Games_2009http://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/w_stamphouse/stamphouse_dtl.jsp?file_name=B314
