Searching for a way to mark the centenary (2018) of Nelson Mandela’s birth, we discovered that the distance from his bust at the South Bank to his statue in Parliament Square, via Trafalgar Square is EXACTY a mile! So we invited everybody to ‘walk the mile with Nelson’. The idea was taken up in cities around the world, with novel routes, passing stunning landmarks.
Your route
1. Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Nelson Mandela, bronze bust One of very few of black or Asian people in London, its commissioning was symbolic of Londoners’ wide support for the struggle against apartheid just when many saw Mandela as a terrorist. Take your selfie and then cross the river Thames by the footbridge.
2. South Africa House, Trafalgar Square Once continually picketed by protesters, now the focal point of South African culture in the UK. Nelson Mandela spoke from its balcony in 1995, and in 2001. Take your selfie and then continue along Whitehall to Parliament Square.
3. Parliament Square Nelson Mandela, bronze statue Unveiled by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2007 along with Nelson Mandela and his wife Graca Machel. Mandela said it fulfilled his dream that there would be a statue of a black man in Parliament Square.
Take your selfie and walk to United Nations Green which faces Westminster Abbey. Show us your selfies to receive your Mandela Mile badge and ‘I walked with Nelson’ certificate.
Please arrive between 1300 and 1700.
4. United Nations Green Join our ‘Party on the Green‘. It’s free! Watch the dove release – listen to the music – taste a slice of the United Nations Green birthday cake – see the world’s largest UN75 Flags of the United Nations display – the kids can play Global Warming hopscotch – and for a moment reflect that it really was here that the United Nations met for the very first time in January 1946. Yes, history was made right in front of you!
Now that’s something to tell Nelson when you next meet!
So, register now so we can keep you updated. There is no cost!
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