Caesars opens its own Madame Tussauds

GAUTENG'S MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Mondli Gungubele, officially launched the Ubunye Exhibition at Caesars Gauteng yesterday at a function attended by government officials, political personalities, celebrities and media. The exhibition ("ubunye" is Nguni for "unity") features panel displays and artifacts pertaining to the historic processes and complemented by amazingly lifelike waxwork figures of key personalities who shaped the democratisation of South Africa. It occupies 180 sqm. (excluding a small auditorium and mezzanine level intended for educational programmes and activities), and is located at the entrance to the Retail Emporium opposite the African Forum Tourist Centre, a facility for arriving and departing airline passengers. The theme of Ubunye centres on the context, significance and legacy of the Codesa (Convention for a Democratic South Africa) talks which negotiated a post-apartheid constitution. This is encapsulated in informative panels divided into four sections dealing in turn with the "Struggle for Human Rights", "the Road to Democracy", Codesa itself and what unfolded after those talks. The displays are augmented by copies of newspaper and press articles of the day and interviews with a cross-section of people who played a major role as well as comments by ordinary South Africans. (Miguel de Sousa)