Madiba’s 90th birthday celebrations have already begun and will continue throughout the year, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said on Wednesday.
Mandela was joined by his wife and daughters in Johannesburg to hear what events have been planned around his 90th birthday, which falls on July 18.
Madiba, wearing a silver patterned silk shirt, sat quietly on the stage of the Victory Theatre in Houghton Estate, flanked by representatives from the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, the Nelson Mandela Institute, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Mandela Rhodes Foundation and the 46664 campaign.
Chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Foundation Jakes Gerwel said Madiba had decided to join his charities on Wednesday to witness their pledge to him that they will continue his work on the long road ahead.
”We know that this road is a long one, but we promised Madiba we have the stamina and determination to travel it.”
Events for the year will include a global birthday wishes campaign; a Nelson Mandela comic book and a 46664 90th birthday concert in Hyde Park in London; the launch the Mandela Rhodes Foundation Young Leaders Facility in the Western Cape; and the opening of the retrospective exhibition on Mandela’s life and times at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. — Sapa