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Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Nelson Mandela Freedom rally in Hyde Park. Thousands of demonstrators marched through central London on 17 July 1988 to a rally attended by 250,000 people. The rally was the climax of the AAM’s ‘Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70’ campaign and the biggest ever anti-apartheid demonstration in Britain. At the end of the campaign a poll showed that Nelson Mandela had become a household name in Britain and 70% of people  supported the call for his release.

Invitation card for a service of tribute to Nelson Mandela on his 70th birthday at St James’s Church, Piccadilly.

This leaflet publicised an overnight vigil outside the South African Embassy in London to see in Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday on 18 July 1988. It asked people to join the last leg of the Mandela Freedom March on 17 July and to wear a ‘Free Mandela’ badge. The AAM produced 1 million badges for supporters to wear on 18 July.

A deputation from the AAM delivered over 30,000 cards calling for Nelson Mandela’s release to the South African Embassy in London on Mandela’s 70th birthday, 18 July 1988. The cards were signed by people from all over Britain. The Embassy refused to accept the cards and threw them onto the pavement.

Thousands of these postcards, addressed to South African President P W Botha, were delivered to the South African Embassy in London on Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday, 18 July 1988.

Birthday card for Nelson Mandela designed by Steve Bell. The graphic shows President P W Botha and incorporates the ANC colours of black, green and gold.

Birthday card for Nelson Mandela designed by South African artist Hilda Bernstein. The pack included an envelope addressed to Mandela c/o his wife Winnie.

Birthday card for Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday, 18 July 1988, produced by the African National Congress.