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Sberatel.info

World Stamp Exhibition Praga 2008 and the Collector Fair attract 45 000 visitors

Both collectors and the general public flocked in thousands to see the World Stamp Exhibition PRAGA 2008 and the International Fair Collector, which were held at the Prague Exhibition Grounds and closed their doors on Sunday, September 14. In three days, the two jointly held events were visited by 45,000 people from across the Czech Republic and abroad.

The main attraction for philatelists was competition exhibits from 61 countries, while the public came to see a part of the British Queen's Elizabeth II collection, including the famous Blue Mauritius. However, because of strict security measures, the stamp, which had to be placed in a bulletproof, multiply secured and air-conditioned display unit, could only be seen by about five thousand visitors, who had to queue for up to four hours.

The unexpectedly great interest in both Hall of Fame exhibits and competition class exhibits was a surprise particularly to foreign exhibitors, including Michael Sefi, Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection. According to him, no country can draw so much attention from philately fans as the Czech Republic. The Praga Exhibition will most certainly help arouse more interest in this beautiful hobby especially with the younger generation.

After twenty years, the Prague Exhibition Grounds were packed not only with philatelic gems, but also postal authorities from 21 countries, including the Czech Post. At the Collector Fair, which is held annually and besides philately also focuses on old postcards, numismatics, notaphily, telephone cards, minerals and precious stones, 250 traders from 40 countries saw their offerings sold out quickly.

The jointly held events Praga and Collector were a great success. Credits should be given to the Union of Czech Philatelists, Progres Partners Advertising, the events' organizer, and especially the Czech Post, which provided funding for the project.