Mandela memorial one of largest in generations

JOHANNESBURG — Joyous, singing South Africans and dozens of foreign dignitaries gathered in the rain Tuesday to honor Nelson Mandela at a massive memorial service that drew some 100 heads of state and other luminaries, united in tribute to a global symbol of reconciliation.

Crowds converged on FNB Stadium in Soweto, the Johannesburg township that was a stronghold of support for the anti-apartheid struggle that Mandela embodied as a prisoner of white rule for 27 years and then during a peril-fraught transition to the all-race elections that made him president.

In spite of driving rain and cold temperatures, crowds of South Africans spontaneously broke out in song and dance around the FNB Stadium, chanting words of respect and adoration for the man whom many in the country revered as a father or grandfather figure. His nickname, Tata Madiba, could be heard echoing from the jubilant crowds.

CBS News correspondent Debora Patta explained that, far from dampening spirits, the rain would be seen by many as a blessing; a sign of a life well lived.

John Carlin, who has written two books on Mandela’s life, including the recently published “Knowing Mandela,” told CBS News from inside the stadium that the mood was “absolutely exhilarating.”

“It’s supposed to be a funeral service,” said Carlin, “but you’ve never seen a funeral service like it. People are so proud and so grateful that he was with us, with us in our hour of need.We’re just so, so proud and happy.”

Carlin, who spent years in South Africa documenting Mandela’s life, said the crowds in the stadium were filling the vast building with joyful noise. “The natural choral faculty that these crowds have — you get these sort of crashing waves of song, and it’s just exhilarating, and it’s a funeral!”

I would not have the life I have today if it was not for him,” said Matlhogonolo Mothoagae, a postgraduate marketing student who arrived hours before the stadium gates opened. “He was jailed so we could have our freedom.”

Tuesday, December 10, 2013, was the 20th anniversary of the day when Mandela and South Africa’s last apartheid-era president, F.W. de Klerk, received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to bring peace to their country.

Mandela said in his acceptance speech at the time: “We live with the hope that as she battles to remake herself, South Africa will be like a microcosm of the new world that is striving to be born.”

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nelson-mandela-memorial-service-draws-thousands-to-soweto/

The sounds of horns and cheering filled the stadium ahead of the ceremony. Rain sent those who arrived early into the stadium’s covered upper deck, and many of the lower seats were empty.

People blew on vuvuzelas, the plastic horn that was widely used during the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010, and sang songs from the era of the anti-apartheid struggle decades ago.

“It is a moment of sadness celebrated by song and dance, which is what we South Africans do,” said Xolisa Madywabe, CEO of a South African investment firm.

The soccer venue was also the spot where Mandela made his last public appearance at the closing ceremony of the World Cup. After the memorial, his body will lie in state for three days at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, once the seat of white power, before burial Sunday in his rural childhood village of Qunu in Eastern Cape Province.

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Archbishop Desmond Tutu pays homage to Madiba

Here is a look at memorials in recent decades that drew the world’s attention and its leaders.

Winston Churchill: His 1965 funeral was attended by “Four kings, two queens, presidents including France’s Gen. Charles de Gaulle in uniform prime ministers and statesmen from 113 nations,” The Associated Press reported. Hundreds of thousands of people had paid tribute while his body lay in state three days, and thousands lined the route to the funeral service.

Pope John Paul II: His 2005 funeral drew President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac among “dignitaries from more than 80 countries, including the presidents of Syria and Iran, and the king of Jordan,” the AP reported. “At least 300,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square … but millions of others watched on giant video screens set up across Rome.”

President John F. Kennedy: His 1963 funeral was attended by “28 presidents, prime ministers and kings.” As his horse-drawn coffin moved through Washington, “streets were lined by hundreds of thousands of people, many of them weeping.”

Yitzhak Rabin: The 1995 funeral for the assassinated Israeli prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner was attended by President Bill Clinton and more than 40 other presidents or prime ministers, including some Arab ones. “It was a collection of heads of states that only three years ago would have been unimaginable,” the AP reported.

Princess Diana: While her 1997 funeral drew British Prime Minister Tony Blair, then-U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and numerous foreign dignitaries, “organizers said they wanted to keep the number of politicians low to accommodate Diana’s friends and people connected with charities she supported.”

Mao Zedong: While a million people attended a memorial rally in Beijing for the Chinese leader in 1976, the government that long had largely closed itself off from the world continued the practice that day. “No foreign dignitaries were invited to Peking for the rally,” the AP reported.

Anwar Sadat: Three former U.S. presidents attended the Egyptian president’s 1981 funeral, as well as about a dozen heads of state and Prince Charles and other royalty. Heads of state of other Arab countries largely did not come.

Nelson Mandela: After the memorial service, Mandela’s body then will lie in state in Pretoria for three days, and he will be buried during a state funeral in his rural hometown of Qunu on Dec. 15.