By Nangamso Mabindla
21 February 2007

TOURISTS are making a point of stopping off at Heroes' Park to look at the Multi-cultural Man statue, unveiled in December 2006.

Heroes' Park is on the East London Esplanade. The statue was sculpted by Italian artist Francesco Perilli, and donated to the City by the Italian city of Nereto, Perilli's home. It is one of four in the world – there are Multi-cultural Men in Toronto in Canada, in Sarajevo in Bosnia and in Changchum in China.

Heroes' Park project co-ordinator, Cynthia Nonkwelo, said that the statue was becoming popular among people visiting the East London beachfront. "I have noticed that both local and international tourists visit the place to look at the Multi-cultural Man."

She said that because of the popularity of the statue, records needed to be kept to look at the kinds of people visiting the park.

"The reason these records will be important is because we also want to have school children and students visit the park to look at the statue and other attractions, like the Garden of Remembrance and the German Statue."

Nonkwelo said that the statue fitted well with the Garden of Remembrance, which aimed to celebrate the Xhosa and Khoisan cultures found in the province. "We already have the famous Xhosa bell stone [inyengane], which is known internationally. With these items we want to show the cultural diversity of our province."

Looking ahead she said that the Heroes' Park Foundation aimed to launch the statue sometime this year. "We don't have a date yet, but we would like to launch the statue this year. Together with the bell stone, the Wall of Remembrance and our neighbour, the German Statue, these items will be important to the education of our youth."