Mandela statue will be unveiled

A model of the Mandela statue was revealed in 2005

Nelson Mandela will attend the unveiling of a statue in his honour in London, after a row over its location.

The statue of the former South African president will be officially unveiled in Parliament Square next Wednesday.

His spokesman said: "Mr Mandela is honoured by the initiative taken by the British public paying tribute to him in this way."

London mayor Ken Livingstone lost an appeal in 2005 to have the statue sited in Trafalgar Square.

The campaign for a Nelson Mandela statue in central London began in 2001.

Designed by sculptor Ian Walters, the 9ft (2.7m) bronze statue will now stand alongside such luminaries as Sir Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli and Mr Mandela's fellow South African statesman Field Marshall Smuts.

Mr Livingstone said placing the statue in Parliament Square reflected Mr Mandela's significance as a world statesman.