Bolt statue to be unveiled next Friday

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange has announced that the unveiling of the statue of track and field icon Usain Bolt will take place on Friday, 13 October at the National Stadium.

"The unveiling is [set for] 5:30 on Friday (afternoon) ... following that will be a reception in honour of our track and field athletes who went to the World Championships in August," said Minister Grange.

Minister Grange extended an invitation to the public to attend the unveiling ceremony:

"The public is invited. We're asking that they come out early and give Usain all their love and appreciation, and to get the first look at the life-size statue of Usain Bolt that will be unveiled. And I know they will not be disappointed."

The bronze sculpture was designed by renowned Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson and arrived in the island "during the past 24 hours," according to the minister.

First of four

The statue of Usain Bolt is the first of four statues of national sports stars that were commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport under the Jamaica 55 Legacy Programme.

The reception for the World Championships team (which is a private event) and the unveiling of the Bolt statue highlight activities for the celebration of Heritage Week.

"Heritage Week will be massive," said Minister Grange, who highlighted that there will be a National Reparations Youth Baton Relay, beginning in Heritage Week and organised by the National Council on Reparations, as part of the public education programme about the Government's reparations agenda. "We will have Dr Julius Garvey (son of National Hero Marcus Garvey) visiting during this period and there will be a run with athletes across the island to take the message of reparations to the people of Jamaica."