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London statue to celebrate Gagarin

A statue is to be erected in London to mark the achievements of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

The zinc-alloy figure will sit just off The Mall, next to Admiralty Arch.

Gagarin made history on 12 April 1961 when he circled the Earth in 108 minutes in his Vostok capsule.

He subsequently went on a world tour, which included the UK.

Admiralty Arch was where he met the then Prime Minister Harold MacMillan.

It is also very near to a statue that celebrates one of Britain's greatest explorers and circumnavigator of the globe - Captain James Cook....
Read entire article at BBC News