SOWETO, South Africa -- Thousands of South Africans showed their appreciation for Nelson Mandela by singing and chanting as they arrived at a memorial service Tuesday that attracted 100 heads of state.
Bernat Armangue / AP
Celebrities such as U2 frontman Bono and actress Charlize Theron joined mourners at the 95,000-capacity FNB Stadium to pay tribute to the freedom fighter, prisoner, president and Nobel laureate who led his nation out of apartheid. Mandela died last week aged 95.
The memorial will feature eulogies from President Barack Obama, Brazil's Dilma Rousseff, Cuba's Raul Castro and China's vice president Li Yuanchao. Leaders spanning the globe, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, will also be in attendance, as will former U.S. Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
'VIP lounge' at Mandela memorial. Sports stars, rock stars, presidents. They all make way for members of Mandela family
- Rohit Kachroo (@RohitKachrooITV) December 10, 2013
Despite the chilly rain, the atmosphere inside Africa's largest stadium was celebratory, with people dancing, blowing 'vuvuzela' plastic horns and singing songs from the anti-apartheid struggle as they honored the man who steered their country from white-minority rule to multi-racial democracy.
'I was here in 1990 when Mandela was freed and I am here again to say goodbye,' said Beauty Pule, 51, one of the growing crowd in the stadium to pay her respects to Mandela. 'I am sure Mandela was proud of the South Africa he helped create. It's not perfect but no-one is perfect, and we have made great strides.'
45 mins from start of Mandela memorial. Crowd on its feet singing as steady rain falls. Motorcades now arriving behind stadium.
- Lester Holt (@LesterHoltNBC) December 10, 2013
Soweto, where the stadium is located, is a township that became a symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle that Mandela embodied during his decades in prison.
'I would not have the life I have today if it was not for him,' Matlhogonolo Mothoagae, a postgraduate marketing student who arrived hours before the stadium gates opened, told bberitaa.blogspot.com. 'He was jailed so we could have our freedom.'
Tuesday was also the 20th anniversary of the day when Mandela and South Africa's last apartheid-era president, F.W. de Klerk, received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to bring peace to their country.
NBC News' Erin McClam and Tracy Connor and bberitaa.blogspot.com contributed to this report. Brinley Bruton reported from London
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