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Statue of Yuri Gagarin, Greenwich

Coordinates: 51°28′38″N 0°00′08″W / 51.47731°N 0.002345°W / 51.47731; -0.002345
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Yuri Gagarin
The Yuri Gagarin Statue at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
ArtistAfter Anatoly Novikov
Year2011
TypeZinc statue
LocationRoyal Observatory, Greenwich, London, United Kingdom

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.

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

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References

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  1. ^ Kennedy, Maev (14 July 2011). "Yuri Gagarin statue unveiled in London". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b Kennedy, Maev (3 October 2012). "Yuri Gagarin statue to take up residence at Royal Observatory". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Yuri Gagarin Statue Unveiled On The Mall". Londonist. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  4. ^ Amos, Jonathan (14 July 2011). "Gagarin statue unveiled in London". BBC News. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Gagarin Monument Moved from London's Mall to Greenwich". RIA Novosti. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Manchester bid to give Yuri Gagarin statue a home". BBC News. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
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51°28′38″N 0°00′08″W / 51.47731°N 0.002345°W / 51.47731; -0.002345