Members of the public sing and dance as they arrive for the Nelson Mandela memorial service at the FNB Stadium, on Tuesday in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
The skies are gray over Johannesburg, this morning.
Still, tens of thousands of South Africans and dozens of world leaders have filled FNB Stadium in Soweto to pay tribute to the country’s emancipator and its former president, the late Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday at age 95.
“There is, of course, much music — some of it mournful and some of it joyful,” NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports from South Africa. “Either way South Africans are dancing and swaying, with their umbrellas up.”
The stadium itself is bookended with two huge portraits with the simple words “Nelson Mandela 1918-2013.”
President Obama is one of the world leaders expected to speak at the service.
Andrew Mlangeni, one of only three surviving co-accused at the Rivonia treason trial that sent Mandela and his anti-apartheid colleagues to prison for 27 years, remembered Mandela as an “incomparable force of leadership,” who “illuminated the way in our nation’s darkest hour.”
“It would be in our collective wisdom… to uphold the values of Nelson Mandela,” Mlangeni said.
We’ve embedded the live video feed being live streamed by SABC, South Africa’s public broadcaster, at the side of this post. C-Span2 is also airing and streaming, unanchored coverage of the event.
We’ll be live blogging throughout the service, so hit refresh to see the latest.
Update at 5:57 a.m. ET. A Warm Welcome For The Obamas:
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are now in the stadium. When their images were show on the big screens, the audience erupted into a huge roar.
Update at 5:44 a.m. ET. ‘Incomparable Force’:
Andrew Mlangeni, one of only three surviving co-accused at the Rivonia treason trial that sent Mandela and his anti-apartheid colleagues to prison for 27 years, remembered Mandela as an “incomparable force of leadership,” who “illuminated the way in our nation’s darkest hour.”
“It would be in our collective wisdom… to uphold the values of Nelson Mandela,” Mlangeni said.
Update at 5:22 a.m. ET. A Memorial, A Thanksgiving:
As the memorial service got started with speeches from a collection of religious leaders, including a Muslim cleric, a Rabbi and Christian minister, Ofeibea spoke to Morning Edition from the stadium.
She said it’s very loud and there’s been a combination of joyful, mournful and soulful music. The service is “clearly a celebration” of life, said Ofeibea.
“It is a memorial, but it’s almost a thanksgiving as well,” she said. “I think people are so grateful to what Nelson Mandela and his generation of freedom fighters did to liberate South Africa with equality for all South Africa.”
Update at 5:10 a.m. ET. The Importance Of The Site:
Our colleague Greg Myre spoke to Melissa Block last night to explain the importance of FNB Stadium.
“Mandela had his first big rally there just days after he was released in Cape Town. He flew to the stadium – it’s in Soweto, which is the big black community just outside Johannesburg,” Greg said. “It’s the biggest soccer stadium in the country, holds about 95,000 people. And some of our listeners may recall it was renovated for the World Cup in 2010.”
Update at 4:57 a.m. ET. The Official Program:
Officially, the program was supposed to start at 11 a.m. They are running late.
According to the official program (pdf), after the national anthem and some interfaith prayers, the first to speak will be Andrew Mlangeni, one of only three surviving co-accused at the Rivonia treason trial that sent Mr Mandela and his anti-apartheid colleagues to prison for 27 years.
Also on the program: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, President Obama, Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff, Cuban President Raúl Castro. The keynote address will be delivered by South African President Jacob Zuma.
Article source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/12/10/249916512/live-blog-nelson-mandelas-memorial-service-in-south-africa?ft=1&f=1001