The Olympex, or Olympic Expo Beijing 2008, ended on Monday at the Beijing Exhibition Hall with an awards-giving ceremony for outstanding philatelists from around the world.

Eighteen philatelists from 23 countries snatched 19 gold medals, beating other 196 competitors for their carefully designed, well-presented Olympic-themed collections of stamps, first day covers, coins and other postage souvenirs.

The 11-day expo for fans of philately and Olympic culture attracted over 80,000 visitors from home and abroad.

As the Olympex 2008 Beijing, the first of its kind, turned out to be a great success, it will become a regular, official event for future summer and winter Olympic Games to promote Olympic culture, said Urs Lacotte, director general of the International Olympic Committee at the award ceremony.