Mandela 90th birthday ball rolling

Nelson Mandela only turns 90 on 18 July, but the celebrations have already started. The year-long occasion will be marked by events ranging from exhibitions, dialogues, book launches and 46664 concerts to the sixth annual Nelson Mandela Lecture.

While Mandela traditionally celebrates his actual birthday with his family in the Eastern Cape, major international events are planned every year in the run-up to the day and after.

"Our focus is on 'a celebration of ideas', and while there will be shows and musical events, they too are aimed assisting our ongoing work in social justice work started by Madiba and the perpetuation of his ideals of freedom, non-racism and gender equality," the Nelson Mandela Foundation said in a recent statement.

Birthday messages
Announcing the birthday programme in Johannesburg recently, 46664 spokesperson Chantal Cuddumbey said people all around the globe would have the opportunity to send their personal birthday messages to Mandela by SMS, MMS and via the web.

"We are in the process of negotiating with cellular networks around the world to make this possible," Cuddumbey said. "Online messages will be facilitated through all the Mandela organisation websites, as well as partner websites."

The major international 90th birthday event - the latest 46664 concert - will be held at Hyde Park in London on 27 June, while the annual 46664 World Aids Day concert will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 29 November.

The 46664 campaign, in conjunction with Coutts Incorporated, will also unveil its new range of silver, gold and platinum 46664-branded bangles in June, with 500 special edition 90th birthday bangles to be introduced at a special fundraising event in London.

Other events

Other birthday events - excluding a few surprises "to be announced in July" - include the following:

# March to November: a series of youth community dialogues, essay and art competitions focusing on Mandela's leadership and vision of an African child.

# The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund will hold a series of Children's Parliaments in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia, culminating in a joint sitting via satellite in June.

# 5 July: launch of Anna Trapido's Hunger for Freedom: The Story of Food in the Life of Nelson Mandela at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg.

# 9 July: annual Nelson Mandela Children's Fund celebration, under the theme "celebrate a children's champion at 90".

# 12 July: Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf will deliver the sixth annual Nelson Mandela Lecture at the Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown, Soweto.

# July: release of the Madiba Legacy Series comics published as a book with the title Nelson Mandela: The Authorised Comic Book.

# July: launch of a Mandela Rhodes Foundation young leaders' facility in the Western Cape.

# August: launch of a 15-city American tour of A Portrait of Mandela, a spectacular symphonic presentation staged by Msomi-Duhart Enterprises.

# August: launch of The Malibongwe Dialogues, celebrating the role of women in society, as an annual event in partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture.

# 18 September: 46664 have been awarded the only slot reserved annually for a charity event at the Royal Albert Hall in London. A spectacular entertainment event is being planned.

# 24 September: opening of a major retrospective exhibition on Mandela's life and times at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.

# December: launch of the first annual "Promise of Leadership Dialogue", involving leaders from South Africa and other African countries.

# The Nelson Mandela Institute for Education and Rural Development will announce a five-year developmental programme, with the Department of Education, to identify and support a network of rural school communities called the Mandela School Community Network.