NELSON MANDELA MEMORIAL SERVICE:OBAMA PRAISES MADIBA , COMPARES HIM TO GANDHI, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AND ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Celebrating one of his personal heroes, President Barack Obama praised Nelson Mandela as the last great liberator of the 20th century, urging the world to carry on his legacy by fighting inequality, poverty and discrimination.
At a memorial service in Johannesburg, Obama compared the former South African President to Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln. He said Mandela had earned his place in history through struggle, shrewdness, persistence and faith.

"For nothing he achieved was inevitable," Obama said. "In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness, persistence and faith. He tells us what's possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as well."

President Obama pays his respect to former South African President Nelson Mandela's widow Graca Machel after his speech at the memorial service.

In a rain-soaked stadium where world leaders gathered to honor the anti-apartheid leader, Obama traced the influence that Mandela's story has had on his own life, disclosing that he asks himself how well he's applied Mandela's lessons to himself as a man and as president.
He said in the U.S., South Africa and around the world, people must not allow progress that's been made to cloud the fact that more work must be done.

Late South African President Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie (l.) and wife Graca Machael (r.) attend the official memorial service for Mandela. 

 

"We, too, must act on behalf of justice. We, too, must act on behalf of peace. There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba's legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality," Obama said, referring to Mandela by his traditional clan name.

 

A man takes a photograph of a giant billboard ahead of the memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela at the First National Bank Stadium in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa.

Joining Obama on the 16-hour trip from Washington for the ceremony were first lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter also attended the memorial service.
Crowds converged on FNB Stadium in Soweto, the Johannesburg township that was a stronghold of support for the anti-apartheid struggle that Mandela embodied as a prisoner of white rule for 27 years and then during a peril-fraught transition to the all-race elections that made him president.

President Barack Obama (left) shakes hands with Cuban President Raul Castro during the official memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela at FNB Stadium December 10, 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Steady rain kept many people away. The 95,000-capacity stadium was filling up during the ceremony, which began at noon local time with the singing of the national anthem.

The mood, though, was celebratory. A dazzling mix of royalty, statesmen and celebrities was in attendance.

Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president who succeeded Mandela, got a rousing cheer as he entered the stands. French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor and political rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, arrived together. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waved and bowed to spectators who sang praise forMandela, seen by many South Africans as the father of the nation.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are escorted from Air Force One upon their arrival in South Africa.

"I would not have the life I have today if it was not for him," said Matlhogonolo Mothoagae, a postgraduate marketing student who arrived hours before the stadium gates opened. "He was jailed so we could have our freedom."

U2's lead singer Bono and South African actress Charlize Theron chat during the memorial service

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Rohan Laird, the 54-year-old CEO of a health insurance company, said in the stadium that he grew up during white rule in a "privileged position" as a white South African and that Mandela helped whites work through a burden of guilt.
"His reconciliation allowed whites to be released themselves," Lair said. "I honestly don't think the world will see another leader like Nelson Mandela."

Members of the South African Police Services' elite Special Task Force arrives ahead of Nelson Mandela's national memorial service at FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer City. 

 

Workers were still welding at a VIP area as the first spectators arrived amid an enormous logistical challenge of organizing the memorial for Mandela, who died Dec. 5 in his Johannesburg home at the age of 95.

United States President Barack Obama landed in South Africa early Tuesday. Besides Obama, eulogies were to be delivered by U.N. chief Ban, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and Cuban President Raul Castro.
Other speakers include the presidents of Brazil, Namibia and India, as well as tributes from Mandela'sgrandchildren.

 

A woman, with tears in her eyes, braves heavy rain as she waits for the start of the memorial service. 

 

Mandela's widow, Graca Machel, and former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela were at the stadium. So were actress Charlize Theron, model Naomi Campbell and singer Bono.

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito (left) and his delegation are greeted by on arrival to the FNB Stadium in Soweto

Tuesday was 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.
Mandela said in his acceptance speech at the time: "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."

Frederik Willem De Klerk, the former South African president who freed Mandela from prison, arrives with his wife Elita for the memorial service. 

 

The sounds of horns and cheering filled the stadium ahead of the ceremony. The rain, seen as a blessing among South Africa's majority black population, enthused the crowd.

President Obama (left) first lady Michelle Obama (under umbrella) and former President George W. Bush (right) are greeted as they arrive at Waterkloof Air Base.

"In our culture the rain is a blessing," said Harry Tshabalala, a driver for the justice ministry. "Only great, great people are memorialized with it. Rain is life. This is perfect weather for us on this occasion."
People blew on vuvuzelas, the plastic horn that was widely used during the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010, and sang songs from the era of the anti-apartheid struggle decades ago.

"It is a moment of sadness celebrated by song and dance, which is what we South Africans do," said Xolisa Madywabe, CEO of a South African investment firm.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu (l.) arrives with joint UN-Arab League Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi (r.) and former US President Jimmy Carter (c.) as they arrive at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, South Africa.

The soccer venue was also the spot where Mandela made his last public appearance at the closing ceremony of the World Cup. After the memorial, his body will lie in state for three days at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, once the seat of white power, before burial Sunday in his rural childhood village of Qunu in Eastern Cape Province.
Police promised tight security, locking down roads kilometers (miles) around the stadium. However, the first crowds entered the stadium without being searched.

A South African does his best to shield himself from the heavy rain as he makes his way to the service.

John Allen, a 48-year-old pastor from the U.S. state of Arkansas, said he once met Mandela at a shopping center in South Africa with his sons.
"He joked with my youngest and asked if he had voted for Bill Clinton," Allen said. "He just zeroed in on my 8-year-old for the three to five minutes we talked."

British prime minister David Cameron is interviewed by media prior to the service at the FNB Stadium.

Women with tattoos of former South African President Nelson Mandela on their faces smile as they arrive for his memorial service at the stadium in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday.

People sing and dance at First National Bank Stadium, also known as Soccer City, ahead of a memorial for former South African President Nelson Mandela in Soweto, near Johannesburg, Tuesday.

Lasers beam an image of former South African President Nelson Mandela onto Cape Town's Table Mountain on Monday to honor the departed leader on the eve of his memorial service on Tuesday.