mda02. ‘Free Nelson Mandela!’

In 1988 the AAM launched a new initiative for Mandela’s release, ‘Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70’. It was discussed at the ANC’s international solidarity conference in Arusha, Tanzania in December 1987 and developed into the biggest campaign ever organised by the AAM. It began with a birthday tribute concert at Wembley on 11 June and culminated in a rally attended by 250,000 people in Hyde Park on 17 July, the eve of Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday.