AN AFRICAN LEGEND
It was one of the great theatrical and emotional moments of contemporary history. At  4:14 pm, on the afternoon of February 11 1990, Nelson Mandela walked away from the Victor Verster detention centre. read more >

EARLY LIFE
Nelson Mandela was born on July 18 1918, in Mveso, a little village in the hills of the Transkei. read more >

THE ACTIVIST
In 1941 Mandela moved to the big city, to Johannesburg, to escape from a marriage that had been arranged by the angry Regent. Mandela, then 23, threw himself into city living, and then into politics. read more >

APARTHEID and the ANC RESPONSE
Black South Africans had few rights at the time when Mandela first arrived in Johannesburg, and they would have even less after the election of 1948. read more >

PRISON
Mandela spent the next 18 years in the bleak jail on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town. Today, it’s a major tourist attraction. read more >

FREEDOM
In 1990 Mandela was free at last and one of the most famous politicians on the planet. He still however, had to oversee the ending of the apartheid era, and save South Africa from a threatened civil war. read more >

PERSONAL LIFE
For Mandela, triumph in his public life was matched by tragedy in his private life. He was married three times, and had six children, three of whom would die during his lifetime. read more >

MANDELA STYLE
As a young man Mandela, a smart dresser and a sportsman, was known as a something of a lady’s man. He was an excellent stick-fighter as a child, and at the Regent’s court concentrated on boxing and long-distance running.
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MANDELA MUSIC
“Artists reach areas far beyond the reach of politicians. Art, especially entertainment and music, is understood by everybody, and it lifts the spirits and the morale of those who hear it”
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MUSIC IN SOUTH AFRICA
Mandela grew up listening to the tribal songs of Xhosa girls in the Transkei, and when he moved to Johannesburg he became a fan of mbaqanga township styles and the singing of Miriam Makeba.
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THE MAN WHO NEVER RETIRED
Though Nelson Mandela stepped down as President in 1999 to make way for Thabo Mbeki, he has never retired.
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