A memorial to the great Nelson Mandela will be unveiled in Liverpool in July in an event supported by Liverpool BID Company and housing provider Torus Group. Tony McDonough reports

Former South African president Nelson Mandela will be honoured with a permanent memorial in Liverpool to be officially opened in July.

Mr Mandela, who died in 2013, was a 20th century icon who served 27 years in prison for his pivotal role in fighting the Apartheid regime. After his release in 1990 he went on to be elected as the country’s first black president in 1994.

Nelson Mandela International Day is on Tuesday, July 18, and on that day Liverpool will welcome members of the Mandela family for the official opening of the memorial in Princes Park in Toxteth.

Mandela8 was established to create the memorial and the unveiling in July will be supported by Liverpool BID Company, which represents more than 1,000 businesses in the city, affordable housing provider Torus and national charity, The Big Help Project.

Marking the tenth anniversary of the death of the visionary leader, the event will also explore business partnerships between Liverpool and South Africa. The events will include;

• The official opening of the memorial in Princes Park.
• An audience with the Mandela Family at Liverpool Everyman Theatre. A public event and panel discussion hosted by Marcus Ryder and including Dr Maki Mandela and Tukwini Mandela.
• A dinner with North West civic and business leaders, hosted by Downtown Liverpool in Business at Hope Street Hotel.

Liverpool BID Company will also be supporting businesses to take up the Mandela Day  campaign, as championed by the Mandela family.

Bill Addy, chief executive of Liverpool BID Company, said: “We are proud to be welcoming the Mandela family to Liverpool and for them to lead this series of events, in partnership with Mandela8 helping to shape the city for the future.

“Our business community should reflect the rich diversity of Liverpool and we continue to work and learn to drive that forward.”

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Dr Makaziwe Mandela added: “The Mandela8 Memorial to my father Nelson Mandela is a moving and truly inspirational tribute to the sacrifices he and his comrades made to rid South Africa of the violent apartheid system.

“Being involved in this journey seeing the stones made and installed has been a very emotional experience for myself and my daughter Tukwini.

“To think that all the way in Liverpool, what my dad stood for in life still resonates with a lot of people today, emphasises that rarely is social and political transformation an individual effort; often it is a result of an accumulation of forces.”