Nelson Mandela Square is a shopping centre in

Sandton Sandton is an upscale commercial and residential district north of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The name of the city came from the combination of two of its suburbs ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, South Africa, that includes a large open area built to resemble a traditional European

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

, and an office complex. The centre was formerly known as Sandton Square and was named for the former president of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in March 2004. A six metre high statue of Mandela was unveiled at the ceremony to rename the square. It is attached to the large Sandton City shopping centre, together forming one of the largest retail complexes on the

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas t ...

with over 400 stores. The

Michelangelo Towers The Michelangelo Towers is a hotel building in Sandton, South Africa. It is a prominent structure in the Sandton skyline and is one of South Africa's elite hotels, having accommodated guests such as former United States President Barack Obama, Op ...

complex adjoins Nelson Mandela Square.

History

The Square, then known by its original name of Sandton Square, was first opened to the public in 1994. The shopping centre was designed in a faux-Italian style and the square was designed to resemble St Marks Square in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. Its design included a library, theatre and gallery. On its 10th anniversary, in 2004, it was officially renamed Nelson Mandela Square after the unveiling of a bronze, six-metre tall statue of Mandela. It was the first public statue of Mandela in the country. It was commissioned in July 2002 and completed in February 2004 by South African Sculptors Kobus Hattingh and Jacob Maponyane. It weighs approximately 2.5 tons. The decision to rename the Square after Mandela was criticised by some as Mandela had long stood for the disadvantaged and the square stands in the most opulent area of the country. Gary Vipond, the Square's manager, defended the decision by explaining that, "The Square is optimistic, expressive and confident, like the Madiba jive, and represents a sophisticated, eclectic, cosmopolitan success story." The shopping centre is connected to Sandton City and, together, they form the largest retail complex in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The square itself is approximately 1000 square metres and houses many shops, restaurants and a library on the far end.

References

External links

* {{coord, -26.1074, 28.0546, display=title 2004 establishments in South Africa Nelson Mandela Shopping centres in Johannesburg Tourist attractions in Johannesburg

History

See also

References

External links