History

Nelson Mandela statue unveiled at Cape Town city hall

27 Jul, 2018

Bronze tribute part of Mandela centenary celebrations in Cape Town.

A monumental statue of the late South African president and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela has been unveiled on the balcony of Cape Town city hall, where Mandela made his first speech on his release after 27 years in prison on 11 February 1990.

The larger-than-life bronze tribute to Mandela, who died in 2013, is part of his ongoing centenary celebrations in Cape Town. The statue was unveiled by the Western Cape premier Helen Zille, Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille and Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu.

The statue commemorates the landmark speech by Mandela on 11 February 1990.

The work is the latest collaboration between Cape Town-based sculptors Xhanti Mpakama, originally from the Transkei region of the Eastern Cape province, and Barry Jackson, a second-generation South African, born of Scottish and Afrikaner descent.

This is the third collaborative project for the artists who previously worked together in 2014 on Mandela’s bust, located outside the South African parliament building in Cape Town; and The Long March to Freedom, a series of 100 statues of heroic figures which includes Mandela.

The new statue will be included in a tour of places associated with Mandela's life, including the house he lived in at Drakenstein Correctional Centre (formerly Victor Vester Prison), currently being developed by Cape Town and the Western Cape government.