LATEST NEWS
Celebrating the life of an icon
1 July 2018
HOW THE CITY IS CELEBRATING NELSON MANDELA’S CENTENARY
In celebration of Nelson Mandela’s centenary, a new life-size statue of the former statesman will be unveiled on the balcony of Cape Town’s City Hall – from where he greeted the world for the first time following his release from prison on 11 February 1990.
The statue will be 1.95m tall and weigh approximately 350kg.
The unveiling is set to take place on 24 July and forms part of a year-long national programme of events to honour the life and legacy of Madiba, South Africa’s first democratically elected president.
Mandela would have celebrated his 100th birthday on 18 July 2018.
The Nelson Mandela memorialisation project, which includes the installation of the statue and a permanent exhibition inside the City Hall, is a joint initiative between the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government.
The exhibition titled “Nelson Mandela in Cape Town” is set to be opened in February 2019 and will bring Mandela’s connection with the city into focus.
Says Lorraine Gerrans, Manager of Environment and Heritage at the City of Cape Town: “The aim of the exhibition, while centred around Mr Mandela, is to tell the liberation struggle story from a Cape Town perspective. Up until now, that story hasn’t been told. Many marches and demonstrations took place in Cape Town between the time Mr Mandela became politically active, his incarceration and his release – we want to tell that story, the story of ordinary Capetonians who played a role and who were at the Grand Parade on the day of his release.”
The exhibition, which will be open to the public and tourists, will have four broad focus areas: 1908 – 1962 (depicting Mandela’s early life and activist role); 1962 – 1990 (the prison era and events in South Africa and Cape Town at the time); 11 February 1990 (the day of Mandela’s release and his first address at the City Hall); 1990 – 2013 (South Africa’s transition to democracy, the Constitution, repealing the Apartheid laws and Mandela’s legacy).
The Western Cape Government appointed Koketso Growth to design and manufacture the statue.
“The statue depicts Mr Mandela as a man coming with a message of peace,” says Gerrans. “He has an open hand in the air, greeting the world for the first time from Cape Town.”
The Cape Town City Hall is currently undergoing a major multi-year renovation. The restoration of the roof has been completed and the renovation of the auditorium is underway.
“Minor renovations to the first floor room where the exhibition will be housed is required and is being scoped in conjunction with the exhibition design team,” says Gerrans.
The Grand Parade and City Hall have been the centre of many national and local events and activities.
“Constructed in 1905, the City Hall is a major public heritage asset. It is one of South Africa’s most imposing early 20th century buildings, an exemplary building of its type and an important visual icon of Cape Town. Set against Table Mountain, it forms a dramatic backdrop to the Grand Parade – the City’s main place of public gathering which we also intend to revitalise through this project,” says Brett Herron, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport and Urban Development.
Cape Town artist Brian Rolfe, who was commissioned to paint a mural of Mandela against the wall of an inner city building, says: “Mandela is someone who opened the gates for us, he needs to be remembered. He was a great man. He said things that carried around the world, which transcended borders and made people sit up and pay attention to South Africa.”
Former US president Barack Obama will deliver the 16th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in South Africa on 17 July under the theme “Renewing the Mandela Legacy and Promoting Active Citizenship in a Changing World”.
As part of the centenary celebrations there will also be Mandela Fridays, when the public will be encouraged to wear a specific T-shirt inscribed with Madiba’s values. The South African Reserve Bank will also launch a 2018 commemorative note for Madiba and there will be Mandela legacy concerts in Portugal‚ Germany and London.
