The first man to orbit the Earth will be commemorated with a statue on the Mall, reports the Guardian. The memorial will mark the 50th anniversary of the historic flight, which took place on 12 April 1961.
Major Gagarin visited London not long after his adventure. The statue — cast from the same moulds as an existing statue outside the cosmonaut's former school — will be installed on the anniversary of that visit, 14 July, and will be placed opposite Captain Cook's memorial.
The likeness will be made from zinc alloy on a Portland Stone base, and is a gift from Russia via the British Council. An exhibition about Gagarin will run around the same time as the statue's installation.
London is going space crazy at the moment, with plans for a rocket-shaped tower on the South Bank, and construction of the 'Orbit' tower in the Olympic Park well under way. Meanwhile, space fans can celebrate the Gagarin anniversary at the Spacetacular! astro-variety evening at the Camden Head on 12 April, hosted by Londonist M@ and comedian Helen Keen.
