Google joined South Africa in commemorating Freedom Day with a doodle.
Friday’s doodle on the search engine’s website displayed the South African flag waving in honour of the country’s first democratic elections held on 27 April 1994.
Google describes doodles as fun and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to its logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries and the lives of famous artists, among others.
Today marks the 24th anniversary of democracy. On 27 April in 1994, almost 20 million South Africans queued to vote in the country's first free and democratic elections.
Freedom Day, which is a public holiday, is marked annually and reflects on the achievements that the country has recorded since 1994.
Celebrations are taking place countrywide, with the main Freedom Day event held at Dr Petrus Molemela stadium in Bloemfontein, Free State. President Cyril Ramaphosa led the event and delivered a keynote address. The Gauteng provincial government held its event at Khutsong Stadium in Carletonville.
“As we celebrate more than two decades of our freedom and democracy, South Africans and the people of Gauteng will look back with pride and hope for more,” said Faith Mazibuko, the Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation.
This year’s celebrations focus on five areas including deepening the understanding of where South Africa comes from and how democracy was achieved, and celebrating the legacy of struggle icons like Tata Nelson Mandela and Mama Albertina Sisulu.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Raseriti Tau, celebrated marked the day by handing over sports equipment to children at the Molehe Mampe Secure Care Centre in Galeshewe in the Northern Cape.
“A child in sport is a child out of court,” he said.
During the NCOP Provincial Week last year, a NCOP delegation led by Tau visited the area and was touched when they saw the plight of children in Galeshewe. They promised to return with sport equipment, which they did today. - SAnews.gov.za
