50 world leaders attend Nelson Mandela's funeral

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said that as of December 8, 53 heads of state and government around the world, including 13 leaders of African countries, have confirmed that they will attend the funeral of the late South African President Nelson Mandela on December 10 in Johannesburg.

Among the leaders who will attend the funeral are US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela. (Source: worldnews.nbcnews.com)

In addition, 26 US congressmen and former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will also go to South Africa to attend Nelson Mandela's funeral.

Also attending the funeral were Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, British Prime Minister David Cameron and British Prince Charles, French President Francois Hollande, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and many other famous figures will also be present at the funeral.

Mr. Mandela's funeral will be solemnly held at 11:00 on December 10, at Soccer City stadium with a capacity of 80,000 people in Johannesburg city, where Mr. Mandela last appeared in public during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

South African President Jacob Zuma is expected to deliver a eulogy at Mr Mandela's funeral before international leaders pay their respects.

Mr. Mandela's body will not be placed at Soccer City Stadium on the day of the funeral, but will be transferred from a military hospital to the Presidential Palace in the capital Pretoria on December 11 in the form of a procession through the streets for people to bid farewell to the Father of the Nation for the last time, after which the body will lie in state at the Presidential Palace until December 13.

Also on December 8, at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the AU, together with the South African Embassy in Ethiopia and the South African Government, held a memorial service for the late President Mandela, opened a condolence book, and organized many memorial and prayer activities.

At the ceremony, AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma praised Mr. Mandela's struggle for freedom and black rights, as well as his contributions to peace, development and prosperity in Africa.

Ms Dlamini-Zuma stressed that Mr Mandela was a symbol of the pan-African spirit, solidarity in the struggle against apartheid, oppression and colonialism as well as the struggle for autonomy, peace and reconciliation.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn praised Mandela as one of Africa's greatest sons with extraordinary contributions to humanity. Mr. Desalegn called on African countries to continue to dedicate themselves to the ideals that Mr. Mandela fought for./.

According to VNA