Close to Leicester Prison and the Leicester Tigers’ Stadium on Welford Road, Nelson Mandela Park sits just inside the city centre, making it one of the more centrally located green spaces in Leicester. The park was originally called Welford Road Recreation Ground before being renamed in honour of Nelson Mandela.
Facilities and Sport
The park has a small children’s play area, flood-lighting, and public toilets. Since March 2017, outdoor gym equipment has been available opposite the children’s play area, installed in the same style as equipment previously set up at Victoria Park in Leicester. Various sports clubs use the green for practice sessions. Leicester Tigers Rugby Club trained here before the club turned fully professional.
The 2007 Sports Festival
On Friday 1 August 2007, Leicester City Council held the Nelson Mandela Sports Festival to mark 21 years since the park took its current name. Councillor Gary Glendon Hunt, the Lord Mayor of Leicester at the time, was among the community figures who attended. Twenty-one trees were planted during the event – one for each year the park had carried the name, and one for each of the 21 wards of Leicester. The event was filmed with the intention of sending the footage to Nelson Mandela himself.