Late last year, when the South African government launched a new series of bank notes that bear the image of Nelson Mandela, the country’s anti-apartheid icon and former president, President Jacob Zuma said printing Mr Mandela’s image on a banknote was “a humble gesture” to express South Africa’s“deep gratitude” to man who had dedicated the vast majority of his life to the service of his people and country.

The passing of Mr Mandela means putting his image on South Africa’s currency was the last major opportunity for South Africans to show a sense of gratitude to a revered leader during his lifetime. If naming places and objects after Mr Mandela was one of the most enduring forms of ‘thank you’, then South Africa and the rest of the world has offered Mr Mandela acres of love.

Few public figures are as glorified as Mr Mandela is in South Africa and, arguably, around the world. In South Africa, his name and images are almost everywhere, although, unlike in the cases of African presidents of a bygone era, he did not impose it on the country.

If you have been to South Africa, then you might have gone shopping at the Nelson Mandela Square in Johannesburg’s Sandton City, which was renamed following the unveiling of a six-metre bronze statue of the anti-apartheid icon.

On the way from Sandton to the Johannesburg central business district, you could have passed through the 284-metre Nelson Mandela Bridge, which crosses over 40 railways lines links Braamfontein to Newtown.

In Braamfontein, you can watch a performance at the Nelson Mandela Theatre, the biggest of the three theatres that form the Johannesburg Civic Theatre. The Mandela Theatre sits 1,061 people and is reportedly one of the most sought after theatres in South Africa, especially by overseas production companies.

According to ABC, it is dim inside; the air-conditioner keeps the fresh air coming and the comfortable red chairs bring dignity to the place. Its stage covers 400 square metres.

Drive further to Soweto, the township that was a hotbed of the anti-apartheid struggle that Mr Mandela led and you will find the Mandela Family Museum, which is adjacent to the Mandela Family Restaurant. The Mandela Museum, which comprises four rooms and contains memorabilia, paintings and photographs of the Mandela family, is located on 8115 Vilakazi Street, famously known as the first street in the world to produce two Nobel Peace Prize winners (Mr Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu).

“The matchbox home [in Soweto] was Mandela's first house,” notes SABC.“He moved there with his first wife, Evelyn Ntoko Mase, in 1946. After their divorce in 1957, she moved out. When Mandela married Winnie Madikizela in 1958, she joined him at the Soweto home. However, during the ensuing years, when his life as a freedom fighter was all-consuming, Mandela seldom stayed there. Madikizela-Mandela continued to live in the tiny house with her two daughters, Zeni and Zindzi, while Mandela was in jail. The house was petrol-bombed and set alight several times during this period.”

However, Johannesburg is not the only city to honour Mr Mandela. In fact, if Johannesburg decided to name only particular features after Mr Mandela, one part of South Africa went even much further. That is Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, the only metropolitan area that was allowed by the former president to bear his name. Nelson Mandela Bay comprises the towns of Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Dispatch.

In Port Elizabeth, there is the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, which was formerly called the King George VI Art Gallery. According to SABC, the Museum was opened in June 1956 but renamed in December 2002. “The collections are housed in two buildings framing the entrance to St George's Park and consist of South African art (particularly that of the Eastern Cape), British art, international printmaking and Oriental art (including Indian miniatures and Chinese textiles),” notes SABC.

The Eastern Cape Province is also home to the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, which was constructed for $159 million ahead of the 2010 World Cup and sits 48,000 people. The Mandela Stadium hosted eight games during the 2010 World Cup.

Besides the stadium, Mr Mandela also receives recognition in sports in the form of the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup, which was launched in 1994 and is played annually between the South African national football side, Bafana Bafana, and a select national team.

There are also two South Africa universities that bear Mr Mandela’s name. The first is the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, which was opened in January 2005 after a merger of the PE Technikon, the University of Port Elizabeth and the Port Elizabeth campus of Vista University. The other is the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine in Durban, which Mr Mandela agreed to offer his name on its 50th anniversary.

In August 2011, the South African government and sculptor unveiled a gigantic sculpture of Mr Mandela at Howick, to mark 50 years since he was arrested on August 5, 1962. That arrest of course led to his imprisonment in Robben Island, another internationally recognised site that is synonymous with the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Mr Mandela also features in a lot of art. Books have been written about him, songs sang and movies in his honour. Early last year, Mr Mandela was also immortalised on the Internet when the Nelson Mandela Digital Archive went live online.

If you feel all those monuments are far-removed from the ordinary people that Mr Mandela used to serve, do not despair. There are at least 17 townships and 30 streets across South Africa that are named after Mr Mandela.

Even Mr Mandela’s birthday, July 18, now has a special significance on the global calendar as the Nelson Mandela International Day. That status was attained in November 2009 when a resolution by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly set it aside as an annual international day of humanitarian action to celebrate Mr Mandela’s contribution “to the culture of peace and freedom”. The UN calls on individuals around the world to offer 67 minutes of their time every July 18 towards community service in honour of Mr Mandela’s 67 years of public service.

Mr Mandela was often modest about the adoration he received from around the world. However, perhaps the closest hint of Mr Mandela’s previous own thoughts on the matter were captured in an autobiography titled “Conversations with Myself” and released in 2010, which captured previously unpublished memoirs. In the autobiography, Mr Mandela talked of being wary that the world had developed a false image of him as a saint.

“One issue that deeply worried me in prison was the false image I unwittingly projected to the outside world; of being regarded as a saint,” he said. “I never was one, even on the basis of the earthly definition of a saint as a sinner who keeps trying.”

In another book, Mr Mandela expressed his apprehension about being idolised, saying, “That was one of the things that worried me — to be raised to the position of a semi-god — because then you are no longer a human being. I wanted to be known as Mandela, a man with weaknesses, some of which are fundamental, and a man who is committed, but, nevertheless, sometimes fails to live up to expectations.” 

PLACES NAMED AFTER NELSON MANDELA

Townships in South Africa
Mandela Park Township in Hout Bay, Cape Town
Mandela, Free State
Mandela, Standerton, Mpumalanga
Mandela, Parys, Free State
Mandela, Khutsong, Gauteng
Mandela Extension 2, Mpumalanga
Mandela Extension 2, Nkanini, Mpumalanga
Mandela Park, Free State
Mandela Park, Mpumalanga
Mandela Section, Mpumalanga
Mandela Section, Free State
Mandela Village, Mpumalanga
Mandela Village, Hammanskraal, Gauteng
Mandela Village, Uitenhage, Eastern Cape
Mandela Village, Mamelodi, Gauteng
Mandela Village, Mpumalanga
Mandelaville, Uitenhage, Eastern Cape

Street names in South Africa

Nelson Mandela Bridge, Newtown, Johannesburg
Nelson Mandela Drive, Pretoria
Nelson Mandela Boulevard, Pretoria
Nelson Mandela Street, Rustenburg, North West
Nelson Mandela Drive, Polokwane, Limpopo
Nelson Mandela Drive, Limpopo, Limpopo
Nelson Mandela Drive, Umtata, Eastern Cape
Nelson Mandela Street, Mafikeng, North West
Nelson Mandela Street, Etwatwa, Gauteng
Nelson Mandela Street, Mpumalanga
Nelson Mandela Street, East London, Eastern Cape
Nelson Mandela Street, Musina, Limpopo
Dr Nelson Mandela Drive, Mpumalanga
Mandela Avenue, Middleburg, Mpumalanga
Mandela Drive, Mpumalanga
Mandela Road, Ladysmith, Kwazulu Natal
Mandela Road, Tabong, Free State
Mandela Street, Bela Bela, Limpopo
Mandela Street, North West
Mandela Street, Soweto, Gauteng
Mandela Street, Gansbaai, Western Cape
Mandela Street, Humansdorp, Eastern Cape
Mandela Street, Potchefstroom, North West
Mandela Street, Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape
Mandela Street, Randfontein, Gauteng
Mandela Street, Motherwell, Eastern Cape
Mandela Street, Calvinia, Northern Cape
Mandela Street, Northern Cape, Northern Cape
Mandela Street, Phagameng, Limpopo
Mandela Street, Western Cape, Western Cape
Mandela Street, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape

International Street names

• City of Cardiff, Wales, named a street after Nelson Mandela

• Camden Borough Council, London, names the street where the Anti-Apartheid Movement has its headquarters as 'Mandela Street'.

• Street in Glasgow, Scotland, where South African Consulate is sited, renamed after Mandela

• New York City renamed square in front of South African mission to the United Nations 'Nelson and Winnie Mandela Plaza'

• Senegal's President Abdou Diouf inaugurates Soweto Square and Nelson Mandela Avenue in the centre of Dakar

• City Council of Harlow, United Kingdom, renamed one of its major roads in honour of Nelson Mandela

• 'Nelson Mandela Road' to Katse, LesothoSquare in Clayes-sous-Bois, France, named 'Nelson Mandela Square',

• Mandela Avenue, Falkirk, Scotland

• Mandela Avenue, Harlow, Essex,England

• Mandela Close, Australia Road, White City, London, England. London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

• Mandela Close, Norwich, Norfolk, England

• Mandela Close, Stanley, England. County Durham.

• Mandela Close, Sunderland, Lancashire, England

• Mandela Link, Grimsby, Lincolnshire

• Mandela Place, Watford, Hertfordshire

• Mandela Road, Canning Town, London, England. London Borough of Newham

• Mandela Way, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England

• Mandela Way, Southwalk, London, England. London Borough of Southwalk. Pronounced "Suthik" - "u" as in "Cuthbert"

• Mandela Way, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England

• Mandela Street, Lambeth, London, England

• Mandela Street, Stockwell, London, England. London Borough of Lambeth

• Nelson Mandela Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe. Renamed from Baker Avenue

• Nelson Mandela Avenue, Windhoek, Namibia. Certificate by Vivienne Graig, Mayor of Windhoek

• Nelson Mandela Boulevard, Caracus, Venezuela. In the Parish (ward) of Altagracia.

• Nelson Mandela Close, Harlesden, London, England. London Borough of Brent

• Nelson Mandela Close, Muswell Hill, London, London Borough of Haringey

• Nelson Mandela Highway, Kingston, Jamaica.

• Nelson Mandela Marg interchange, New Delhi, India

• Nelson Mandela Road, Kidbrooke, London, England. London Borough of Greenwich

• Nelson Mandela Street in Tunis, Tunisia

• Nelson Mandela Street, Zone Industrielle Borj Cedria, Tunisia

• Nelson Mandela Street, Cite Barkly, Beau-Bassin, Mauritius

• Nelson Mandela Street, Port Louis, Mauritius

• Nelson Mandela Street, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Nelson Mandela Street, Terre Rouge, Mauritius

• Nelson Mandela Walk, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

Monuments

Monument to Nelson Mandela unveiled in Merrion Square, Dublin
This demonstrated quite clearly where the Irish people stood in relation to apartheid and the system of government in South Africa.

Sculptures

City Council of Dublin, Ireland, unveiled sculpture in a city park by Elisabeth Frink dedicated to Nelson Mandela

Statue of Nelson Mandela in Parliament Square in Westminster, central London
The Mandela statue will join those of Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli, Sir Robert Peel and the South African Field Marshal Smuts, but only after a five-year row over where it should go. A bust of Mandela first arrived in London in 1985, at a time when the ANC leader was still in captivity at Robben Island prison. Sculpted by Ian Walters, it was placed outside the Royal Festival Hall. Later, when Mandela had been accepted as one of the great political icons of the 20th century, there were calls for the bust to be moved to Trafalgar Square. Donald Woods, the South African newspaper editor and anti-apartheid activist, suggested that Walters produce a new full-length sculpture for a suitably prominent location. Woods raised support and financing and, in 2002, Walters travelled to South Africa.

Mandela sat for nine hours while Walters worked on a clay model — afterwards he said that Walters was the only artist to whom he had given so much time. The statue remained in clay, while in London a dispute rumbled on over where to put it. In December 2005 the Government’s planning inspectorate upheld a decision by Westminster City Council to refuse permission to place the statue on the north terrace of Trafalgar Square. The statue was to be cast in bronze only once a location for it had been agreed — the wait was too long for Walters, who died of cancer on August 3 last year (2006).

Bust of Nelson Mandela erected by the Greater London Council
“Because his message and life-long commitment to the struggle for freedom of the majority of South Africans is shared and supported by this council.”

Parks

Park in Hull, Britain, named 'Mandela Park'

Park in Leicester, England, named after Mandela
Formerly Welford Road Recreation Ground, has a sign in which quotes Nelson Mandela: "There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere".

Nelson Mandela Park, Kingston, Jamaica
This park was named in honour of Nelson Mandela who visited Jamaica while he was President of South Africa. The Park is used for political and religious meetings.

Madiba Bay Leisure Park, Nelson Mandela Bay

Buildings

Coventry City Council named new building after Mandela
Hackney Council, London, renames a housing block after Nelson Mandela
Haringey Borough Council, London, names housing development after Nelson Mandela
Nottingham City Council names a room in a sports centre
City of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, UK, renames its speakers' corner Nelson Mandela Corner
Nuremberg Platz renamed 'Nelson Mandela Platz', Nuremberg, Germany

Halls

City Council of Leeds, Britain, names the Civic Hall 'Nelson Mandela Gardens'
Mandela Gardens were first instituted in 1982 to encourage solidarity with the plight of Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress in South Africa, who had been imprisoned by the ‘apartheid’ state in 1963. Support for the anti-apartheid movement had been strong in Leeds since the South African cricket and rugby team’s tour of the UK, which visited Headingley in the 1970s. The gardens were rededicated on the occasion of South Africa’s first full.

The gardens, in the south-east corner of Millennium Square, feature a 16-foot high bronze statue entitled 'Both Arms' by internationally renowned Leeds-born sculptor Kenneth Armitage. A water feature with two circular, interlocking pools of water and ripples, cascades, jets and a mini canal forms a focal point for the garden and provides an attractive setting in which people can relax. The re-designed Mandela Gardens was officially opened by Nelson Mandela in April 2001, at a ceremony in which he was given the ‘Freedom of Leeds’.

Community centres

The 'Mandela Centre' opened in Chapeltown, Leeds in 1984.
The Mandela Centre offers a full programme of activities in sport, recreation, education, culture and entertainment.Schools

Park Public School renamed Nelson Mandela Park Public School, Toronto, Canada
The name change honours Mandela's legacy and his fight to help those who are less fortunate. It also recognizes the rich heritage of the school and its community.

Stadia

Nelson Mandela Stadium, Namboole in Kampala, Uganda, a 40,000 stadium that was built by the Chinese government in the ‘90s

Flowers

Protea cyneroides ("Madiba") - a striking, deep red king protea named after Nelson Mandela, known to millions by his clan name, Madiba.

Strelitzia reginae ("Mandela's Gold") - The National Botanical Institute at Kirstenbosch, Cape Town introduced this rare and spectacular yellow-flowering strelitzia to horticulture in 1994 – the year that Mandela became the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Nuclear particle

A nuclear particle discovered by scientists at the University of Leeds is named "Mandela particle"

Who discovered the particle: Discovered by Dr Walter E. Kellerman, Dr Gordon Brooks and Dr John Baruch at Leeds University in the United Kingdom.
What was it: The ‘Mandela’ particle was (at that time) a new sub-nuclear particle from cosmic ray interactions in experiments. The scientists observed a bump in the ‘hadron energy spectrum in cosmic rays’ which was detected by an‘innovative hadron calorimeter’. This could have been due to a new particle, which the researchers dubbed the Mandela. Sadly, the bump was eventually found to be due to a burned-out connection in the detector's custom-built computer. (CERN Courier 2006)
Why it was named ‘Mandela’: Dr John Baruch says in a Bradford University staff profile that he was interested in politics at the time and suggested that the particle be named after Nelson and Winnie Mandela. Nelson Mandela was in jail at the time but says Baruch ‘I thought their time would come and so would this new nuclear particle. As with many things scientific, the data improved the particle went away, but not before we had hit the world headlines and had two TV programmes made. Mandela did rather better and Apartheid was pushed into the dustbin of History.’

SOURCE: SABC and Agencies