Nelson Mandela Memorial Service Johannesburg Tuesday Dec 10,2013

The South African Parliament paid tribute to Mandela with both the Assembly benches and the public gallery packed to capacity when Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe took to the podium to open the tributary speeches

Nelson Mandela’s grandson Ndaba Mandela represented his family at the sitting.

Lasers beam an image of former South African president Nelson Mandela, clan name, Madiba, projected onto Cape Town's Table Mountain, on Monday Dec 09,2013  to honour Mandela on the eve of a memorial service to be held in Johannesburg. 

Four of the biggest stadiums in Johannesburg have been mobilised to cater to the memorial service, with the FNB Stadium expected to be filled up hours before the start at 11 am (local time)

Proceedings will be broadcast live to the other stadiums and to 90 more public venues across the country, as well as on television internationally

The crowds are in high spirits - singing and dancing and stomping their feet

Pictures of Mandela are everywhere, on banners, flags and even tattoos

India's President Pranab Mukherjee accompanied by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and BSP leader Satish Mishra arrived in johannesburg on Tuesday Dec 10,2013 to attend a memorial service in honour of South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, whose death triggered an unprecedented outpour of rich tributes worldwide

India's President Pranab Mukherjee will join the heads of governments and states from more than 90 countries, including US President Barack Obama, in the two-hour long memorial service to be held at a 95,000-seat FNB Stadium, where Nelson Mandela made his last major public appearance during the 2010 football World Cup

Memorial service honoring former South African President Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg's FNB stadium attended by -

• Afghan President Hamid Karzai
• Angolan Vice President Manuel Vincent.
• Argentinian Acting President Amado Boudou.
• Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
• Bahamas' Prime Minister Perry Christie.
• Bangladesh's President Abdul Hamid.
• Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo and King Philippe.
• Benin's President Boni Yayi.
• Botswana's President Seretse Ian Khama.
• Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and three of her predecessors, including Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
• British Prime Minister David Cameron, deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

• Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza.
• Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and three of his predecessors.
• Chadian President Idriss Deby.
• Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao.
• Comoros' President Ikiliou Dhoinine.
• Congo's President Joseph Kabila.
• Croatian President Ivo Josipovic.
• Cuban President Raul Castro.
• Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout.

• Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Prince Frederik.
• Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh.
• East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.
• El Salvador's Foreign Minister Jaime Miranda.
• Equatorial Guinea's President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
• Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
• European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
• European Union Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

• Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.
• French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy.
• Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba.
• Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
• German President Joachim Gauck.
• Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama.
• Guinean President Alpha Conde.
• Guyana's President Donald Ramotar.

• Haitian President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe.
• Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Congress party leader Sonia Ghandi.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
• Irish President Michael Higgins.
• Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
• Ivory Coast's President Allasane Ouattara.
• Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.
• Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito and former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
• Jordanian Queen Rania and Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour.
• Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
• Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
• Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.
• Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

• Malawi's President Joyce Banda.
• Malaysian Energy Minister Maximus Ongkili.
• Mauritius' Prime Minister Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
• Mexican President Pena Nieto.
• Morocco's Prince Moulay Rachid.
• Mozambique's President Armando Emilio Guebuza.
• Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
• Nepalese Foreign Minister Madhav Prassad Ghimire.
• The Netherlands' Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans and King Willem-Alexander.
• Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou.
• Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
• Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Crown Prince Haakon.

• Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain.
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
• Philippines' Vice President Jejomar Binay.
• Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and former President Lech Walesa.
• Portuguese President Cavaco Silva.
• Saudi-Arabia's Deputy Prime Minister Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
• Senegalese President Macky Sall.
• Serbian President Tomislav Nicolic.
• Seychelles President James Michel.
• Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak.
• Slovenia's President Borut Pahor.
• South Korean Prime Minister Hongwon Chung.
• South Sudan's President Salva Kir Mayardi.

• Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Prince Felipe.
• Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
• Sudanese Vice President Bakri Hassan Salih.
• Suriname's President Desire Delan Bouterse.
• Swaziland's Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini.
• Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Princess Victoria.
• Swiss President Ulrich Maurer.
• Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
• Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
• Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki.
• Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
• UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay.
• UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his predecessor Kofi Annan.
• US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as well as former presidents George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary.

• Uruguay's Foreign Minister Luis Almagro.
• Vatican official Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana.
• Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
• Zambia's President Michael Sata.
• Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

India's President Pranab Mukherjee is one of only six Heads of State  -

• US President Barack Obama
• Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff
• Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia 
• Raul Castro of Cuba and
• Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao

who will address the crowd at the memorial service

memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto

VIP's and dignitaries stand up for the start of the memorial service in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa

President Pranab Mukherjee speaks during the memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto near Johannesburg on Tuesday Dec 10,2013

Calling Nelson Mandela a venerated elder and a great soul, President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said India had no doubt that the world would honour the historic legacy of the anti-apartheid icon, who taught the true meaning of forgiveness and reconciliation.
"We pray for his eternal peace. Madiba lived a life of sacrifice and privation as he pursued a seemingly impossible goal for his people. The world is richer for his legacy…We, in India, have long admired him and all that he stood for and we will always cherish his friendship and love for our people,” President Pranab Mukherjee said

US President Barack Obama speaks during the memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto near Johannesburg on Tuesday Dec 10,2013

U.S. President Obama says Mandela "moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world"

ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela as she made her way to her seat inside the stadium

Graca Machel (R), the widow of former South African president Nelson Mandela, at the memorial service with other mourners

 

Nelson Mandela's successor as president, Thabo Mbeki arrived with his wife Zanele

South Africa's last white president FW De Klerk with his wife Elita

U2's lead singer Bono and South African actress Charlize Theron