Sochi 2014 Philatelic Program Delivers Russia's first QR-code postage stamp

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, together with the Publishing and Trading Center "Marka", the Russian Post Office and supported by the World Olympic Partner Samsung Electronics, has launched an innovative Olympic stamp which includes a QR-code. The stamp is the first with a QR-code in the history of Russia and the Olympic movement.

The stamp features the official logo of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi and a matrix code linking the user to the Sochi 2014 website, which is accessible by anybody with a mobile device.

The "XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi" stamp, with a face value of 25 rubles and 37x37 mm in size, was issued in a sheet of 9 stamps and will have a total circulation of 540,000 copies (60,000 sheets). The Sochi 2014 Philatelic Program began in 2011, with the launch of a press sheet featuring the stamp "Sochi - the host city for the XXII Olympic Winter Games of 2014".

The ceremony was held at the trade gallery of Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung Electronics and was organized in a non-standard format using the capabilities of Samsung's latest technology models. The audience was shown how to access the Sochi Winter Games website via the innovative new stamp. Dmitry Chernyshenko and the other representatives autographed both the physical envelope and an electronic version using a Samsung tablet. They were also photographed against the background of the QR-code stamped envelope, the image of which was projected onto electronic panels at the gallery.

The guests were then invited to the ceremony to be photographed against the background of the envelope, and download their photos from a special events page set up by the partner on the Facebook social network.

After downloading a special program and scanning the "XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi" stamp with a camera on mobile devices, anyone can quickly access the mobile version of the official website of the Sochi 2014 Games, learn about the preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, read the latest news about the Games, visit the Mascots on theSochi 2014 page, visit the Sochi 2014 online store, where among other things, one can buy stamp production with symbols of the first Russian Winter Games.

The President of the Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, said:

"Today we have taken a step into the future with the launch of Sochi 2014 stamp with QR code incorporated, which is the first of its kind both in the history of Russia and the Olympic Movement. The new stamp will really add some sparkle to the Sochi 2014 Philatelic Program and build on a range of distinctive and innovative Sochi 2014 souvenirs, such as 3D credit cards, coins and the Games Mascots!"

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