After imprisonment for 27 years, Nelson Mandela was finally released by South Africa's Apartheid regime on 11 February 1990. Mandela walked out of the gates of Victor Verster Prison, Paarl, and was whisked away in a silver BMW to Cape Town where he appeared on the balcony of the City Hall. 50,000 people congregated to hear his address:

"Our struggle has reached a decisive moment. Our march to freedom is irreversible ... Now is the time to intensify the struggle on all fronts. To relax now would be a mistake which future generations would not forgive."