At 4pm on Friday 9 October 2026 the statue of Nelson Mandela will be unveiled in Nelson Mandela Place, Glasgow.
The statue of Nelson Mandela was commissioned by the Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation and created by renowned sculptor Alan B Herriot. It will stand on a plinth of South African granite in Nelson Mandela Place. *
Brian Filling, Chair of the Scottish Nelson Mandela Memorial Campaign said, ”We are pleased to be welcoming back to Glasgow, Marah Louw, South African singer, who sang in George Square when Nelson Mandela received the Freedom of 9 UK cities on 9 October 1993.
“The iconic photograph of that occasion was Nelson dancing with Marah. Many schoolchildren since then have been using the learning resource, commissioned by our Foundation, about Mandela and the struggle against apartheid, entitled, “When Mandela danced in the Square”
Marah is flying in from Johannesburg to join the Lord Provost, the South African High Commissioner to the UK, Kingsley Mamabolo, and NMSMF Chair, Brian Filling, in unveiling the statue of Nelson Mandela in Nelson Mandela Place.*
Date: Friday 9th October Formal ceremony starts 4 pm and finishes at 5 pm (some music as audience gathers from 3.30 pm)
*The stone (South African grey granite) for the plinth was procured in South Africa and
transported to Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire where it has been finished and inscribed by
Leiths Natural Stone.
The statue was created by Alan B Herriot at his studio in Penicuik
and it was cast in bronze at Powderhall Bronze Foundry in Edinburgh. The foundations
for the statue were laid by the contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine.
ENDS ……………………………………………………………………………………..
Further information from Brian Filling, Chair, Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial
Foundation.
Contact: b.filling@btinternet.com
Tel: 07989 346644
Issued by Janis Carson, jmgcarson@gmail.com on behalf of the Nelson Mandela
Scottish Memorial Foundation.
* Profiles for these guests can be found at
NOT embargoed. Available for immediate release.