World pays homage to Mandela in mass memorial service

Johannesburg: US President Barack Obama to Cuba’s Raul Castro, pay homage to Nelson Mandela at a mass memorial in South Africa on Tuesday that will recall his gift for bringing enemies together across political and racial divides.
Obama and Castro, whose countries maintain an ideological enmity lasting more than 50 years, are among the designated orators at a Johannesburg soccer stadium where 23 years earlier Mandela, freshly freed from apartheid jail, was hailed by cheering supporters as the hope for a new South Africa.
The fact that the visiting leaders, more than 90 are expected, include some from nations still locked in antagonism, such as Cuba and the United States, adds piquancy and resonance to the homage being held at the gigantic bowl-shaped stadium, the venue of the 2010 World Cup final.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and former British prime minister Tony Blair will also be present. Blair has called Mugabe a dictator who should have been removed from power. Mugabe has called Blair an imperialist and once told him to ‘go to hell’.
Such antagonisms will be put on mute on Tuesday as the life of someone who put his faith in reconciliation into practice to successfully unite a multi-racial nation is remembered.
South African officials had initially said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would also be there, raising the possibility of a first face-to-face meeting with Obama. But Rouhani’s name was not on an official list of attendees.
A flock of celebrities are also expected, including US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, singers Peter Gabriel and Bono, supermodel Naomi Campbell and entrepreneur Richard Branson.
While Tuesday’s event will reflect Mandela’s global stature, ordinary South Africans will also pack the stadium to hail their beloved “Tata Madiba”. Madiba is Mandela’s clan name and “Tata” is the Xhosa word for father.
Huge screens in three other soccer stadiums in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city and commercial hub, will relay the memorial service to hundreds of thousands more mourners, with others following from around the country.
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, December 15, in Qunu, his ancestral home in the rolling, windswept hills of the Eastern Cape province, 700 km (450 miles) south of Johannesburg.