London 2020 getting closer
It will not be long before London 2020, the international stamp exhibition to be held at the Business Design Centre in London’s Islington in May, is upon us.
The dates to note are Saturday, 2 May to Saturday, 9 May. The exhibition will be open from 10am to 6pm each day (closing at 5pm on the final day). Entry will be free every day, except on the first day when admission will cost £10.
There will be over 125 standholders comprising dealers, auctioneers and philatelic publishers. In addition several postal administrations will have stands, most notably Royal Mail, plus Guernsey and Jersey, the Faroe Islands and Monaco.
The team from Stamp Active Network will be present, encouraging youngsters to discover all that stamp collecting has to offer. The Postal Museum will also have a stand promoting this new attraction on the London scene, attracting thousands of visitors to the unique Mail Rail experience.
The Royal Philatelic Society London will have a stand, as will the American Philatelic Society and The Revenue Society. In addition, there will be over 50 society meetings taking place during the exhibition.
There will be much to see among the exhibits, these filling no fewer than 1,700 frames. Indeed, such has been the demand to exhibit that the entries will be shown in two sections. The first half (Saturday, 2 May to Tuesday, 5 May) will include Postal History, Revenue, Open, Picture Postcards, Postal Stationery, Modern and part of Youth. The second half (Wednesday, 6 May to Saturday, 9 May) will have Championship, Traditional, Aerophilately, Thematic and the rest of Youth. One Frame exhibits will be shown alongside their parent class.
In the ‘Court of Honour’ the Postal Stationery Society will help mark the 150th anniversary of the first British stamped postcard. There will also be special displays presented by signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists.
The Business Design Centre is already a familiar and well-liked venue among collectors across the world, hosting the national stamp exhibition Stampex since 1996, and two previous internationals, in 2010 and 2015. It is a just a short walk from Angel station on London’s Underground network (Northern Line), and is passed by several bus routes connecting with many parts of London. It is in an area heaving with fine shops, bars and restaurants.
For those wishing to book a hotel in London during the exhibition, please use the hotel booking facility on the website www.london2020.co/hotels.
For more information, go to www.london2020.co/mailchimp/ to receive newsletter updates about the progress of the exhibition and receive important announcements as they are made.
Richard West
