The year 2018 is set to be momentous for South Africa as the nation celebrates 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela. In addition to the wealth of Mandela-related experiences already on offer in South Africa, such as Robben Island in Cape Town and the Mandela House Museum in Soweto, there will also be special holiday packages, new openings, projects and events to celebrate his life that holidaymakers can add to their plans.
As well as celebrating Nelson Mandela’s legacy, South Africa will continue to provide a multitude of places to stay and exciting activities for visitors to add to their must-do lists, not least of which are Grootbos Private Game Reserve’s Secret Season, Kruger National Park’s new Shalati luxury train lodge which offers visitors prime location perched permanently atop the Selati bridge and, for the active traveller, the exhilaration of witnessing the Bloodhound world land speed test in the Northern Cape.
South Africa will be playing host to this historic affair with a range of special initiatives, projects and events to celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela and his visions of improvement for the nation, Africa and the world. The upcoming programme will include new events and activities both in South Africa and the UK, ranging from education and the arts to exhibitions and sports.
For those wishing to celebrate the global icon’s life and achievements in South Africa, a free app, Madiba’s Journey, outlines more than 27 places of major historical significance across the country that help to tell Mandela’s incredible story. From the infamous Robben Island in Cape Town through to the site where Mandela was captured in KwaZulu-Natal, there are numerous locations that are synonymous with Madiba.
In London, Gresham College will be hosting a lecture, Nelson Mandela in the 21st Century, at the Museum of London on 6th June. Meanwhile in Glasgow, the first UK city to give Mandela the ‘Freedom of the City’, a statue of Madiba is planned to be unveiled.
Nelson Mandela’s final residence in Houghton, Johannesburg is being redeveloped into a five-star, nine-bedroom boutique hotel which is due to open to the public in 2019. The Mandela Presidential Boutique Hotel will offer a luxury retreat inspired by Mandela’s life and times in one of Johannesburg’s most sought-after neighbourhoods. Ideal for both leisure and business travellers, a fine dining restaurant will be accompanied by state-of-the-art conference facilities. The project is being co-developed by The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Thebe Tourism Group, an investor in the development of iconic tourism attractions that seek to benefit local communities and sustainable tourism.
For more information, visit, www.nelsonmandela.org.
