The new square is lined with art by the renowned Venda artist Noria Mabasa and Cape Town artist Claudette Schreuders. Mabasa's work, referred to as the "fifth element", reflects the contribution of women and children to peace and democracy in the country. Her work, a carving, is described as having "a quiet dignity". Schreuders has produced five sculptures cast in bronze, with the laureates being a bit larger than life-size.
Albertina Luthuli, the daughter of the country's first Nobel laureate, the late Chief Albert Luthuli, Tutu, De Klerk, a representative from Nelson Mandela Foundation as well as the Norwegian Ambassador, Ove Thorsheim, were present at the unveiling of the Square. Thorsheim congratulated the laureates and praised the artists for their work.
Mandela, speaking at the original launch of the project in December 2003, described the Nobel Square as a gesture celebrating and promoting reconciliation. "We need to celebrate ourselves and our achievement as often as we can", said Mandela, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with FW de Klerk in 1993.
Luthuli was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960, but due to the situation in the country he could only travel to Norway the following year to receive it.
"How he would have loved to have lived to vote and witness the birth of the new South Africa in 1994", Albertina Luthuli said.
De Klerk, like his fellow laureates, said credit should go to those they represented. "May this monument remind us to be aware that the new South Africa has given us something precious."
The project has the blessing of the Nobel Institute in Norway.
The Nobel Prize, established in 1901 by Alfred Nobel, is awarded annually and recognises excellence and contributions in the five categories of peace, literature, physics, chemistry and medicine.