The fall of Edward Colston’s statue: One year on

It has been a year since the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol, sparking a debate over how to deal with historical monuments linked to slavery and colonialism.

On 7 June 2020, demonstrators cheered as the statue was thrown into the city’s harbour. It was recovered several days later and put into storage.

Now the graffitied statue is going on display in Bristol’s M Shed museum as part of a public consultation on the statue’s future.

Around a quarter of contentious statues have been or will be removed across the UK.