Belgium’s 2025 stamps usher in the fourth year of cataloguing the country’s extensive program. This all started innocently enough in 2021, with a project to keep busy during Covid. After 4 years, the pages have gone from a simple listing of stamps to a full blown exploration of themes, history and designers. It takes about 2-3 days research to pull together Belgium’s details. It takes so long because I have accumulated a fascinating archive of information on the artists and previous releases. 

One of the newer features introduced late last year was showing earlier stamps with the same theme, and on occasion the first stamps by some of the designers. It’s part of the fun of stamp collecting to understand  design heritage for each country. And does Belgium have a rich history. Among their modern designers are a few names you’ll see quite often – Geert Wille, Myriam Voz and the divine illustrator Marijke Meersman. In an interview with BPost a few years ago, Willie explained the design process.

“We design both permanent stamps for general use, such as the Royal stamp, and limited ‘collector’s stamps’. Each year we develop a program of 20 to 22 themes and each theme is depicted on a sheet that contains 2, 5 or 10 stamps. Our designs go through a whole process. After approval by my team manager, we submit the designs to the Philatelic Commission. This is a group of experts that includes representatives from bpost and the philatelic world, plus a few additional experts, such as an advisory historian. After that, adjustments are made and the final creations are finalized and made ready for printing.” 
Stamp designer Geert Wille puts his stamp on your stamps! | Career Website

This year’s offerings include digital art from new upcoming gaming artists, an engraving treat from the formidable Martin Mörck, a pioneer flight, Smurfs and waterbears. It’s an eclectic program but works wonderfully. 

With thanks to Bpost for their work in providing stamp lovers with excellent pre-release material.  Please note: some designs may change.
All images are the sole property of © bpost. 

January

Digital Arts and Entertainment

4 stamps on souvenir sheet 

This is a fascinating study of 5 young artists who work in the video game industry as environment and asset artists. These are the skilled designers of all the background, characters and mood that can elevate a game from dull to dramatic. Without their attention to detail and incredible skills it’s doubtful games would be so engaging.

Artists in order: 

• Finn Bogaert – technical environment artist for video games. Finn Bogaert (@finnbogaertdesign) • Instagram photos and videos for more of his work. Check out The Rookies – Bogaert Finn || Technical Environment Art 2024, by FinnBogaert for a bit of a look at this young artist and his thoughts on his art.
• Yanouk Verleysen –  “As a digital artist, I love creating worlds and characters, that tell a story and can take place anywhere, in any period of time, to be only limited by your own imagination and above all to share it with other people. I aspire to help create digital worlds and characters for either the film or game industry.” (73) Yanouk Verleysen | LinkedIn
• Christiane Schaper – “I’m driven by the desire to create appealing and cool looking Images and visualise all the crazy or random Ideas i have in my head.” (73) Christiane Schaper | LinkedIn
• Otterworldly – Virtual reality gaming video creator 
  “Producing VR Content with a focus on Mixed Reality videos to showcase the magic & immersiveness of Virtual Reality.” OtterWorldly – Otter Worldly1

• Giant of the Steppe – This is a short animated film that you can view here The Rookies – Giant of the Steppe, by MariGallet. Be prepared for a genuine “HOLY SH*T!” moment. This short was the work of 6 art students and it took 6 months to create this 80 second film. The artists are HoodyFinn, MariGallet, Mondpanther, TheoniFotoglou, arnoutzeghari, and royterium. Just follow the link and you can find more about each artist. 

The little QR code on the bottom right will opens a page with a short animated film and give you access to games.

Design: Studenten DAE -Howest
Layout: Geert Wille

Release date: January 27, 2025

600 Years of KU Leuven and UCLouvain

1 stamp on souvenir sheet

Originally the universities were called Old University of Leuven. It opened in December 9, 1425. It is the oldest university in Belgium and the Low Countries. Founded by Duke John IV of Brabant.

In 1824 the university was transformed into the KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven). Tensions between the two communities, Dutch and French, led to the establishment of 2 sister universities, one predominantly French, the other Dutch.

Charter collection of the Old University of Leuven restored to its former glory — News

Designer: Wim Vandersleyen

Release date: January 27, 2025 

Smurfing Together for a Better World

10 stamps, sheetlet

• Decent work and economic growth – quality education
• Smurfs promoting a better future.
• No poverty – gender equality
• Life on the land – climate action
• Responsible consumption and production – zero hunger
• Peace, justice and strong institutions
• Good health and well-being
• Reduced inequalities
• Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• Clean water
• Sustainable cities and communities

Designer: Myriam Voz

Release date: January 27, 2025

100 Years of the First Flight to Congo

1 stamp, souvenir sheet, cancel

From Brussels to Kinshasa. 

On February 12, 1925, former WW1 fighter pilot Edmond Thieffry, climbed aboard his Handley-Page tri-motor, nicknamed Princesse Marie-Josée. His goal was to  to undertake a flight from Brussels, Belgium to Kinshasa, Congo (formerly called Leopoldville) to promote his new airline Sabena. Mechanic Joseph “Jef” de Bruycker and co-pilot Léopold Roger were with Theiffry on the perilous 8,200 kilometres flight. 

The original flight plan estimated a 7 day journey, with landings at Marseille, Oran, Colomb-Bechar, Gao, Fort-Lamy, Bangui and Coquilhatville. The weather and luck had different ideas. The flight crew encountered strong winds ahead of them and a broken propeller that took time to replace. They finally landed in Kinshasa on April 3, 1925, at 11 in the morning. 

Theiffry would be welcomed back to Belgium to great fanfare. Unfortunately, he would die in an air crash near Lake Tanganyika in 1929. Regular service wasn’t established between Brussels and Kinshasa until 1935.

Edmond Thieffry was one of the founders of Belgium airlines Sabena. In 2023, Bpost issued 5 stamps to celebrate the airlines 100th anniversary. Designer Myriam Voz picked classic travel posters to showcase the airlines history. 

Designer: Myriam Voz

Release date: January 27, 2025 

100 Years of Letter Franking Machine

1 stamp, 5 stamps on souvenir sheet

Letter franking machines are used by businesses to imprint proper postage on mail. Instead of laboriously licking and sticking stamps, companies can arrange to purchase a postal subscription.  The letter is put into the machine and a lever pulled to mark or “frank” the letter. Modern machines are automatic – just put a pile of letters in and they weight and stamp them rapidly.  

Designer: Geert Wille

Release date: January 27, 2025

EUROPA 2025: National Archaeological Discoveries – Caring for the Past, Caring for the Future

2 stamps on a foldable souvenir sheet

This year’s EUROPA theme National Archaeological Discoveries, was originally set for 2024 but moved to 2025. 

Designer: Geert Wille

Release date: January 27, 2025 

April

The East Cantons – Eupen-Malmedy

5 stamps on a cool cutout sheet showing the borders of the East Canton

The Eupen-Malmedy is composed of 3 cantons or districts on the eastern edge of Belgium. Eupen, Sankt Vith and Malmedy cover about 730 square kilometres. 
Municipalities & Tourist Info – East Belgium

Designer: Myriam Voz

Release date: April 7, 2025 

Belgium Inventors – Ernest Solvay

1 stamp, sheets of 10

Chemist, industrialist and philanthropist. 

He created a process for making soda ash.

Although the ammonia-soda process had been understood since 1811, a suitable and economical means of large-scale commercial production had evaded industrial chemists. Solvay, who was unaware that the reaction itself had been known for 50 years, solved the practical problems of large-scale production by his invention of the Solvay carbonating tower, in which an ammonia-salt solution could be mixed with carbon dioxide. In 1861 he and his brother Alfred founded their own company and in 1863 had a factory built. Production started in 1865, and by 1890 Solvay had established companies in several foreign countries. Solvay’s method was gradually adopted throughout much of Europe and elsewhere and by the late 19th century had supplanted the Leblanc process, which had been chiefly used for converting common salt into sodium carbonate since the 1820s. 
Ernest Solvay | Inventor, Industrialist, Entrepreneur | Britannica

Little known fact – he was a big supporter of Marie Currie, helping finance her research.

First page of a letter Ernest Solvay sent to Marie Currie.
1911
courtesy ark:/12148/btv1b9080321q Source: National Library of France. Department of Manuscripts. NAF 18463

Last year’s stamp featured Leo Baekeland, Plastics Pioneer (Bakelite).

Solvay was featured on a stamp in 1955, Belgian Scientists: Ernest Solvay (1838-1922), designed by Jean van Noten. 

Designer: Geert Wille

Release date: April 7, 2025

June

Bruegel the Elder – Netherlandish Proverbs

10 stamps, foldable sheet

Bruegel’s work has been described as a “riot of a painting, expressing a dry and witty view of mankind through bringing to life various Netherlandish Proverbs of the day” (Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Bruegel). The stamps represent only a small portion of the “riot” going on in the work. To truly appreciate the intense energy, you should take a look at the entire painting. It holds 110 different proverbs, ranging from the practical to the borderline profane. 

All the images are from Bruegel’s 1559, oil-on-panel Netherlandish Proverbs. The original title for this work was The Blue Cloak or The Folly of the World. Tucked into this busy painting are numerous old proverbs documenting the many human follies and occasional flash of common sense.

The stamps in order:

• To hang one’s cloak according to the wind – change opinions to match current opinions. 
• To keep one’s eye on the sail – be careful. 
• It is ill to swim against the current – it’s not always easy to go against popular opinion.
• Two dogs over one bone seldom agree – two people arguing over a bone or single idea will disagree over the same idea.
• If the blind lead the blind both will fall in the ditch – kind of self explanatory.
• To bell the cat – carry out a dangerous and usually impractical job.
• To cast roses before swine – in a larger view of this stamp, the man is standing between two pigs tossing roses down to them – generally means you’re wasting your time trying to curry favour from the ignorant.
• The world is turned upside down – well, this one hits a little too close to 2025, doesn’t it?
• To throw one’s money into the water – Wasting money by tossing it into a pond and hoping to profit from it.
• To sit on hot coats – a close look shows the soldier is plopping down on a pile of lit coals. Generally means you are too impatient. 

The sayings often have a second meaning, but I chose the ones I’m most familiar with. 

Nederlandish is currently owned by Gemäldegalerie Museum in Berlin, Germany. WikiArt has a good quality photo you can enlarge and examine Netherlandish Proverbs, 1559 – Pieter Bruegel the Elder – WikiArt.org

Designer: Myriam Voz

Release date: June 16, 2025 

Iconic Belgian banknotes

5 stamps, souvenir sheet

This series on bank notes has a secondary link to stamp collecting. Often designers and engravers of notes also design stamps. A number of the designers listed below also created some of Belgium’s best known stamps..

1. Belgium’s first bank note series – issued January 2, 1851 and withdrawn in 1854. 5 denominations released. The Mille France was intended to be used by businesses and industrialists. It was a huge sum of money in 1851 and made transactions less cumbersome.  

Designer: Leopold Wiener

Wiener also designed stamps starting with the 1849 King Leopold I type “Epauletten” series. Charles Baugniet was co-designer and John Henry Robinson engraved the stamp.

2. “Hendrickx series” – issued 1888 to 1910 when it was withdrawn. The oldest bilingual bank note issued. Has Dutch on the back. 
Uses an agricultural motif with the Roman god of agriculture Ceres on the front and an agrarian scene in the background. 

Designer: Henri Hendrickx.  
Engraver: Albert Doms  

Hendrickx designed the classic, early Belgium stamps Lions and Leopolds in 1869 . He worked with engraver Doms on the Lions and a number of other bank notes and stamps. 
The Lions stamp was issued in 1869 and has a lion reclinging over the worlds Belgique. 

3. First Belga series – issued 1933 to withdrawal in 1944.  A number of design variations were released. This particular one features the Albert I and Elizabeth I on either side, with “Belgium personified” represented by a reclining woman. 

Designers Guillaume Minguet and Emile Vloors
Engraver: Maurice Poortman

Poortman designed the 1937 series King Leopold III, but his first designs were the semi-postal 1932 Sanatorium “Les Pins” in “La Hulpe” as part of an anti-tuberculosis campaign.

Vloors designed predominately Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi stamps. His first series explored Congo women’s headdresses, which was part of the Indigenous portraits and crafts/skills series.

4. Penultimate series – issued 1982 and withdrawal in 1994. Features Guido Gazelle, the poet priest of West Flanders. This was the only bank note issued by Belgium dedicated to a literary figure. Gazelle’s home town Bruge is depicted in the background. He was featured in a 1949 stamp. 

Designers: Yvon Adam, Manfred Hürrig, Charles Lecleroqz, Maurice Pasaternak, Anne Velghe. 
Engraver: Henri Decuyper

Decuyper’s name should be very familiar to Belgian collectors. He was a prolific engraver of both stamps and bank notes. I’m not sure if anyone else helped with the engraving. Decuyper was the only mention I could find. One of the earliest stamps engraved by Decuyper was the 1957 50th Anniversary of Zeebrugge Harbour. The design was by F. Boudens.

Velghe (Anne Wisniewska-Velghe) designed dozens of stamps in the eighties and up to 2000. One of her earliest stamps was the King Baudouin (1930-1993) – type “Velghe” Big Format, with Jean De Vos engraving.

5. Last series – issued in 1996 and withdrawn in 2002 when the EURO was introduced. This series features the instrument maker Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone. Interesting notes about this stamp: the ink engraving was raised in sections of Sax’s portrait making it easier for visually impaired to feel the differences in bank notes. Belgium’s national bank has noted over 15 million bank notes from this series have never been handed in for exchange.  

Designers: Monique Golaire and Kenneth Ponsaers.
Engraver: Benoit Gregoire

Ponsaers designed one stamp, World Telecommunications Day in 1973.

With special thanks to the National Bank of Belgium. I used their website extensively when researching these stamps. See more here  NBB Biljetten

Designer: Myriam Voz

Release date: June 16, 2025 

20 Years of Postcrossings

5 stamps, souvenir sheet in the shape of a postcard

“The goal of this project is to allow anyone to send and receive postcards from all over the world! 
The idea is simple: for each postcard you send, you will receive one back from a random postcrosser from somewhere in the world.” About Postcrossing

You can sign up for this in just a few minutes. Postcards connecting the world – Postcrossing

Designer: Geert Wille

Release date: June 16, 2025

August

Piet Stockmans

1 stamp, sheetlets of 10

Flemish designer and ceramic artist.

‘t is de wind (2024) – It’s the wind 
porcelain and cobalt blue

This work was part of the Infinite Blue: A Dialogue between West and East  Huh Sang-wook & Piet Stockmans exhibition  that took place October 5 – 26 2024.

How nice it is to be creative
with a simple material such as clay.
I did it my whole life
and still have new ideas.
How wonderful to express myself
every day
with this white gold
as porcelain is called.
Always
in the same philosophy
of tactility and vulnerability.
Piet Stockmans

Artist: Piet Stockmans 
About — Piet Stockmans
Designer: Geert Wille

Release date: August 25, 2025 

Hasselt City Square 

5 stamps, souvenir sheet of 5 
engraved

Provincial capital for Limburg.

Homepage | Visit Hasselt

Designer: Myriam Voz
Engraver: Martin Mörck

Release date: August 25, 2025 

Do You Like Pi?

5 stamps on souvenir sheet

This set has a bit of fun with the concept of PI, using unusual circular shape for both the stamps and the souvenir sheet. 

• Symbol for Pi
• Archemedes
• PI calculatoins
• World PI Day celebrations
• Einstein

Designer: Geert Wille

Release date: August 25, 2025 

October

Pink Ribbon

1 stamp on sheetlets of 10
this set uses fluorescent ink

Annual breast cancer awareness campaign

Designer: Myriam Voz

Release date:: October 20, 2025 

Land Mollusks

5 stamps on souvenir sheet
varnished print

• round-mouthed snail (pomatias elegas) – sometime called a land winkle. 
• grove snail (cepaea nemoralis) – also called the brown-lipped snail, which leads me to wonder how powerful a magnifying glass needs to be to see their lips. Also called a Lemon snail.
• amber snail (succinea putris)  
• cheese snail (helicodonta obvoluta) – the cheese nickname is derived from the shell’s shape that reminds some of a cheese wheel
• Two lipped door snail (alinda biblicata) – must be a hell of a magnifying glass to see two lips. 

Designer: Marijke Meersman
Meersman is an exceptionally skilled nature illustrator. Her artwork is instantly recognisable to any lovers of nature illustrations. She has contributed a number of sets for Bpost, including the 2021 Nature in the Belgian Tricolor set, which included the Rooster (Gallus gallus domesticus), one of her best. 
Intro | Marijke Meersman illustrator

Release date:: October 20, 2025

Microanimaux

5 stamps, souvenir sheet

These stamps are very small with the largest 2 x 5mm. 

• water flea (dahnia pulex) 
• (cyclops strenuus) – couldn’t find a common name for this cyclops
• transparent nematode (caenorhabditis elegans)
• rotifer (rotifera philodina)
• water bears (tarigrada) – also called moss piglets

Designer/artist: Sven Bellanger

Release date:: October 20, 2025

40 Years of André Buzin’s Birds – “From Pen to Brush”

5 stamps, souvenir sheet

• Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
• Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana)
• Common merganser or goosander  (Mergus merganser)
• Eurasian bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
• Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)

Buzin is a well known Belgium artist specialising in birds. His art has appeared on dozens of stamps, including 2024’s Birds of Buzin, featuring a Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus).

The first stamps Buzin’s art appeared on was the 1984 Garamba Park set from Zaire. The set contains 9 stamps including this se-tenant pair Kori Bustard & Black Crowned Crane. 

Artist: André Buzin 
André Buzin, painter of wildlife
Designer: Myriam Voz

Release date:: October 20, 2025 

Sparkling Christmas Magic

2 stamps, 2 sheets of 10

Designer: Myriam Voz

Release date:: October 20, 2025