Rainbow nation lifts the clouds

Almost 80,000 mourners braved the elements as they streamed in to the FNB Stadium for the special four-hour service to reflect on the achievements of the anti-apartheid hero.

Rain-lashed spectators joined in song with a mass a mass choir performance of the South African national anthem to mark the start the memorial which attracted dignitaries from across the globe.

A series of tributes from Mr Mandela’s friends, family and state leaders from across the world honoured his work in uniting a nation.

President Barack Obama exhorted the world to embrace Mr Mandela’s universal message of peace and justice, electrifying the spectators in the Johannesburg football stadium.

Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president who succeeded Mr Mandela, received a rousing cheer as he entered the stands.

French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor and rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, arrived together.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waved and bowed to spectators who sang praise for Mr Mandela, seen by many South Africans as the father of the nation.

Rohan Laird, the 54-year-old head of a health insurance company, said as he waited to go into the stadium: “I honestly don’t think the world will see another leader like Nelson Mandela.”

Matlhogonolo Mothoagae, a postgraduate marketing 
student who arrived hours before the stadium gates opened, 
added: “I would not have the
life I have today if it was not for him.

“He was jailed so we could have our freedom.”

Dipolelo Moshe, 35, who works for a marketing company, arrived at the stadium carrying a photograph of Mr Mandela and wore a South African flag draped over her shoulders.

She said: “Mandela was a very humble man and he gave himself to the world.

“He sacrificed time with his family for us and for me.

“It is a privilege to be here, it is a humbling experience.”

Construction workers were still welding sections in the area reserved for VIP guests as the first spectators arrived amid an enormous logistical challenge of organising the memorial for Mr Mandela.

His widow, Graca Machel, and his former wife Winnie Madikizela, gave each other a long hug before the memorial service started.

But some seats at the 95,000 capacity stadium remained empty during the rousing celebration of Mr Mandela’s life.

The US president was cheered by the assembled crowds but boos could be heard when the current South African president Jacob Zuma took to the podium to address mourners.

Mr Zuma, addressing the service, said: “He leaves behind a nation that loves him dearly. He leaves a continent that is truly proud to call him an African.

“He leaves the people of the world who embraced him as their own icon.

“Most importantly, he leaves behind a deeply entrenched legacy of freedom, human rights and democracy in our country.

“In his honour we commit ourselves to continue building a nation based on the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.

“United in our diversity we will continue to build a nation free of poverty, hunger, homelessness and inequality.”

Prime Minister David Cameron, Sir John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown attended the ceremony.

Labour leader Ed Miliband, and Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg were also present.

The Prime Minister and Mr Brown were among MPs who paid tribute to Mr Mandela in a special Commons session.

Mr Cameron said: “Progress is not just handed down as a gift, it is won through struggle – the struggle of men and women who believe things can be better, who refuse to accept the world as it is but dream of what it can be.

“Nelson Mandela was the embodiment of that struggle. He did not see himself as the helpless victim of history – he wrote it.”

Yesterday also saw the 20th anniversary of the day Mr Mandela and South Africa’s last apartheid-era president, FW de Klerk, received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in bringing peace to their country and uniting a nation.

Mr de Klerk, a political rival 
who became friends with Mr Mandela, was also among the mourners in the stadium yesterday.

During his Nobel prize acceptance speech Mr Mandela said: “We live with the hope that as she battles to remake herself, South Africa will be like a microcosm of the new world that is striving to be born.”

The stadium was also the place where a frail Mr Mandela made his last public appearance during the closing ceremony of the World Cup over three years ago.