Nelson Mandela Statue in Sandton, South Africa
Posted by: ossewa
S 26° 06.439 E 028° 03.274
35J E 605446 N 7112005
Nelson Mandela Statue on Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, South Africa
Waymark Code: WMH70K
Location: Gauteng, South Africa
Date Posted: 06/02/2013
Views: 19
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (born 18 July 1918) is a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election
Standing six meters tall, this is a 3 times life size statue, weighting 2.5 tons.
The bronzed Nelson Mandela (Madiba) statue in the Nelson Mandela Square was unveiled on the centre’s 10-year anniversary in March 2003. The unveiling also served as a celebration of 10 years of democracy in South Africa as well as the renaming of the centre from Sandton Square to Nelson Mandela Square. The statue was unveiled by Mandela's eldest granddaughter, Ndileka.
This statue shows Mandela wearing a typical "Madiba" shirt buttoned to the top, without a tie. During his term in office, Mandela was often seen in public dressed this way.
Basetsana Kumalo, MC at the launch of the new Nelson Mandela Square, declared: "This is a very happy statue. The dancing stance pays tribute to the spirit of joy and celebration inherent in the people of South Africa - this is the Madiba jive."
Quick Facts:
- The statue of Nelson Mandela is six metres tall (higher than 5.9m of the world's tallest recorded giraffe).
- It weighs 2.5 tons (the weight of an adult African white rhino).
- It measures 2.3 meters from elbow to elbow (the maximum wing span of the African fish eagle), and has a shoulder width of 1.7m (almost the width of a luxury sedan).
- The statue's shoes measure virtually one meter in length - a boot size very few could fill
- The statue was sculpted by Kobus Hattingh and Jacob Maponyane.
Commissioned in July 2002, the statue was completed in February 2004, and moved to the Square in the middle of the night to be installed ahead of the unveiling.
Visit Instructions:
At least one original photo, taken by the poster, of the statue. No internet photos.