Friends Of Princes Park and Mandela 8 are hosting a Picnic in the Park tomorrow, Saturday 11th August, from 1.30pm to celebrate the success of the campaign to install a permanent memorial to Nelson Mandela — in the year of what would’ve been his 100th birthday. Come along to The Henge in the park to see the plans, bring some food to share, bring an instrument to play and find out more about this amazing project!
Liverpool City Council and the Mandela 8 group recently visited South Africa to discuss the memorial designs and returned to the city with the blessing of Dr Makaziwe (Maki) Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s eldest daughter, and a truly wonderful gift of the limited edition ‘Struggles Collection’ prints, a collection of drawings depicting stages of South Africa’s development and Nelson Mandela’s influence in bringing the country ‘from struggle, imprisonment, freedom, unity and future.’ The prints are on display in the Town Hall until 24th August, and will then be moved to St. George’s Hall, where they will be permanently displayed.
Sonia Bassey, Director and one of the founding members of Mandela 8, said: “Our trip to South Africa was very inspirational and to be able to come back to Liverpool with our designs endorsed is such a monumental moment for the campaign. The visit also inspired us to further develop our educational vision through the Mandela Day ‘My 67 minutes’ programme rolled out across the City this year on Mandela’s 100th birthday.”
Liverpool has had strong connections to Nelson Mandela, supporting the anti-apartheid movement from the 1960s, the Free Nelson Mandela campaign, and Nelson Mandela was given the Freedom of the City in 1994. The Mandela 8 group have been campaigning since Mandela’s death in 2013 to erect a permanent memorial in the city to this inspirational leader, and the memorial will be officially unveiled in 2019. Princes Park was originally a private development completed in 1842 and gifted to the city of Liverpool in 1849 as a public park. It’s supported by Friends of Princes Park, who run a range of events and activities throughout the year.
Check out the Mandela 8 group on FACEBOOK, check out Friends Of Princes Park ONLINE, view the Struggles Collection at the Town Hall, and come along to Princes Park tomorrow to support this fantastic project!
Images courtesy of Mandela8 and Friends Of Princes Park
