Statue of Simón Bolívar

The statue stands in Belgrave Square, a quiet garden square in the City of Westminster. It is a bronze figure of Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan leader who freed six nations from Spanish rule. Hugo Daini made the sculpture in the 1970s. The square itself is lined with tall London plane trees and tall terraced houses. Bolívar’s words about England appear on the plinth. Beneath them, the names of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela are carved. The statue was unveiled in 1974 by James Callaghan, who later became Prime Minister. It is one of several public statues in the square. Visitors find the statue at the south-east corner of the gardens. The bronze figure faces north-west across the square. The plinth is low, so the face and inscription are easy to read. The surrounding plane trees give shade in summer and bare branches in winter.