World leaders coming to South Africa for Madiba's funeral

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Presidents past and present, global figures and A-list celebrities are making their way to South Africa to pay the world's respects at a memorial service and state funeral for
freedom icon Nelson Mandela.

More than 80 000 people will attend an impassioned, emotional tribute tomorrow to the country's inspirational first black president at the FNB stadium in Soweto, where he made his last major public appearance for the 2010 World Cup final.

The service is seen as a final chance for grieving South Africans to unite in a mass celebration of Mandela's life ahead of the more formal state funeral at the weekend.

US President Barack Obama together with his wife Michelle and three previous occupants of the White House arew among the roughly 70 heads of state and government flying in from every corner of the globe.

While Obama will attend tomorrow's memorial service at the Soweto stadium, others will arrive later in the week for Mandela's burial on Sunday in his boyhood home of Qunu.