Thousands attend Mandela memorial

(Vatican Radio) World leaders join stars from the film and music industry, plus tens of thousands of South Africans today, to honour Nelson Mandela in a memorial service that will celebrate his gift for bringing enemies together across political and racial divides. The former South African president and Nobel peace laureate died last Thursday at the age of 95.

US President Barack Obama and three of his predecessors flew into Johannesburg, together with some 90 other world leaders expected to take part in the ceremony at the Soccer City Stadium. It’s the same venue where, 23 years ago, Mandela, just freed from his apartheid jail, was hailed by cheering supporters as the hope for a new, democratic, multi-racial South Africa.
Coinciding with the U.N Human Rights Day, the memorial service in the 95,000-seat stadium is the centrepiece of a week of mourning for Mandela. Despite a steady rain on Tuesday morning, the stadium was filled with people who gathered early to celebrate the life and legacy of the man who became a global symbol of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Giant screens in three other stadiums in Johannesburg, will relay the memorial service, to others following events from around the country. A huge security operation is in force, with private cars banned from the area around the Soccer City stadium and people being urged to use public transport.
South African President Jacob Zuma will give the keynote address, while U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will also speak – he’s expected to hold Mandela's example up as a beacon of justice, equality and human rights.
Pope Francis has sent Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Justice and Peace Council as the Holy See’s representative to the memorial service.
After Tuesday's event, Mandela's remains will lie in state for three days at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where he was sworn in as president in 1994. He will then be buried on Sunday in the village of Qunu, his ancestral home in the hills of the Eastern Cape province, south of Johannesburg.

Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report: