Nelson Mandela, Bronze statue at Cape Town City Hall, South Africa
The Nelson Mandela statue is a bronze figure standing on the balcony of Cape Town City Hall overlooking the Grand Parade. The roughly 1.95-meter-tall figure shows Mandela with his right hand raised in greeting and a rolled paper in his left hand.
The memorial was erected at the location where Mandela delivered his first speech as a free man on February 11, 1990, marking a turning point in South African history. This address before the Grand Parade became a defining moment for the nation.
The statue was created by artists Xhanti Mpakama and Barry Jackson as a memorial to Mandela's role in South African democracy. It stands at a location where many people gather to remember important moments in the nation's history.
The statue sits on a balcony of City Hall and is easily visible from the Grand Parade, a large central square in the heart of the city. The location is accessible and the view of the figure is possible from several positions.
A distinctive detail of the statue shows Mandela wearing glasses that he had borrowed from his wife Winnie for his historic speech, as he did not have his own available. This small but meaningful feature captures the human side of a transformative moment.
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