The Statue of Yuri Gagarin in Greenwich, London, is a zinc statue depicting the cosmonaut wearing a spacesuit and standing on top of a globe. The 3.5-metre (11 ft) high statue is a replica of an original by Anatoly Novikov in Lyubertsy, where Gagarin was trained as a foundry worker.[1][2] It was a gift to the British Council from the Russian space agency Roscosmos as a part of several cultural events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight.
| Yuri Gagarin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | After Anatoly Novikov |
| Year | 2011 |
| Type | Zinc statue |
| Location | Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, United Kingdom |
The figure was originally unveiled on 14 July 2011 at a temporary location in the Mall, close to Admiralty Arch and facing the statue of Captain James Cook.[3] This location was chosen as it was where Gagarin first met the then Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.[4] It was later moved to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, at a site overlooking the Prime Meridian line, and was unveiled at the new location on 7 March 2013.[2][5] There had been an unsuccessful proposal to move it to Manchester.[6]
See also
- Monument to Yuri Gagarin – large statue in Moscow
References
External links
Media related to Statue of Yuri Gagarin, London at Wikimedia Commons
