One Street with Two Nobel Laureates in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa

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Soweto is an urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city’s mining belt in the south.

“Vilakazi Street is perhaps the most famous street in Soweto, or in all of Johannesburg, South Africa. The street claims a rather unique distinction, being the only street in the world to have once had as residents two Nobel Prize winners. Those two men are His Excellency Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu.

It is also where 13-year-old Hector Pieterson was shot dead, sparking the beginning of riots, on June 16, 1976. A memorial is nearby in Soweto and that day is now National Youth Day.

At the corner of Vilakazi and Ngakane streets, is Mandela House which is a great testament to Mr. Mandela as well as to the greater fight against apartheid and for equal rights not only in South Africa but around the world.”

BY KIRSTEN ALANA Local Expert: New York, New York

“First National Bank Stadium or simply FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer City and The Calabash, is the largest stadium in Africa with a capacity of 94,736.  It is located next to the South African Football Association headquarters (SAFA House) where both the FIFA offices and the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup were housed.” (1)

“The Imperial Military Hospital Baragwanath, named after Cornishman John Albert Baragwanath, was built in 1941  to serve as a British Military Hospital. In 1947 King George VI visited and presented medals to the troops there. From this start grew Baragwanath Hospital (as it became known after 1948), reputedly the world’s third largest hospital.” (2)

[1] -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FNB_Stadium

[2]-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto

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