The world is literally coming to South Africa, as
arrival of 91 counties' leaders has already been confirmed, including President Goodluck Jonathan,
US President Barack Obama, and
many more.
Some of the global leaders may join the 80,000 people
expected to cram into the FNB stadium in Soweto to take part in a grand
memorial service for their inspirational first black president on December 10,
2013, Tuesday.
South African President Jacob Zuma will make the
keynote address, and other speakers will include UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Four of Mandela’s adored grandchildren will speak for
his family, while neither his widow, Graca Machel, nor his ex-wife Winne
Madikizela-Mandela are listed on the programme.
Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and singer-activist Bono, as well as British billionaire Richard Branson and musician Peter Gabriel were expected to be among the celebrity mourners.
The memorial service, in the venue where Mandela made
his last major public appearance for the 2010 World Cup final, is seen as a
final chance for grieving South Africans to unite in a mass celebration of his
life ahead of the more formal state funeral.
Some 120,000 people will be able to watch the event on
giant screens set up in three overflow stadiums in Johannesburg.
Ahead of the burial, Mandela’s body will lie in state
for three days from Wednesday in the amphitheatre of the Union Buildings in
Pretoria where he was sworn in as president in 1994.
Each morning, his coffin will be borne through the
streets of the capital in a funeral cortege, to give as many people as possible
the chance to pay their final respects.
Around 11,000 troops have been
mobilised to ensure security and help with crowd control.
Vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment