Obama, David Cameron & more gather for Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in South Africa (PHOTOS)

Tens of thousands of people including world leaders have gathered for the memorial service of former South African President Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg.

Nelson Mandela’s official memorial service is being held at Soweto’s FNB stadium in front of a huge crowd.

It is one of the biggest send offs in history.

Dignitaries including President Barack Obama & his wife Michelle, Tony Blair, President Jacob Zuma, David Cameron and more are at the event.

Photos:

Barack & Michelle Obama

Winnie Mandela

FW de Klerk & his wife Elita

David Cameron

Jacob Zuma

Kofi Annan & Desmond Tutu

Tony Blair

Bono & Charlize Theron

At the event, President Obama delivered a powerful tribute to Mandela.

Here is an excerpt:

It is hard to eulogise any man – to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person – their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone’s soul. How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.

Born during world war one, far from the corridors of power, a boy raised herding cattle and tutored by elders of his Thembu tribe – Madiba would emerge as the last great liberator of the 20th century. Like Gandhi, he would lead a resistance movement – a movement that at its start held little prospect of success. Like King, he would give potent voice to the claims of the oppressed, and the moral necessity of racial justice. He would endure a brutal imprisonment that began in the time of Kennedy and Khrushchev, and reached the final days of the Cold War. Emerging from prison, without force of arms, he would – like Lincoln – hold his country together when it threatened to break apart. Like America’s founding fathers, he would erect a constitutional order to preserve freedom for future generations – a commitment to democracy and rule of law ratified not only by his election, but by his willingness to step down from power.