On 5 October 1985 the former Labour leader, Michael Foot, unveiled a new memorial in Jubilee Gardens, on London's South Bank. Sculpted by Ian Walters, the four and a half metre memorial evokes both defiance and protectiveness, a homage to both the Spanish Republic of 1931-1939 and the thousands of men and women from around the world who flocked to its defence during the Spanish Civil War.
The memorial became the focus for an annual commemoration by members of the International Brigade Association, which had been set up in 1939 by former members of the International Brigades and their supporters. When the International Brigade Memorial Trust was formed in 2001, incorporating the IBA and the Friends of the International Brigades, the tradition of an annual July commemoration continued. Increasisngly popular, the event, held on the first Saturday of July at 1pm, has always attracted high profile speakers from across the British Isles and beyond: