Mandela funeral likely to get underway at 9am

Monday, December 9, 2013

Johannesburg - Former President Nelson Mandela’s funeral is likely to get underway at 9 am on Sunday.

“We hope to start at 9am and finish at 12 (midday),” Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane, said at a media briefing on Monday.

Government has been giving daily updates on preparations for the Memorial Service and State Funeral of Madiba, who passed away at the age of 95, on Thursday, 5 December.

Madiba will be laid to rest at his home village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape on Sunday, 15 December.

Tomorrow, FNB Stadium in Johannesburg will play host to the official memorial, while the event will be screened at numerous public viewing venues throughout the country. South Africans are expected to pack the FNB Stadium to capacity.

About 70 Heads of State and Government are expected to attend the memorial. Government Communications said as of midday on Monday, 90 Heads of State and Government would have been in the country during this period.  

Mandela’s remains will lie in state from Wednesday onwards at the Union Buildings. A procession will leave 1 Military Hospital daily at 7am and Madiba’s remains will be on display from 8am.

On Wednesday, the Mandela family and VVIPs will view the body from 10am.

Members of the public will file past the body from midday to 5:30pm. On Thursday and Friday, the public will be able to view Mandela’s remains from 8am to 5.30pm.

On Saturday, the remains will be transported from the Waterkloof Air Force Base to Umthatha Airport, where they will be transported to the former statesman’s home.

Airspace at Umtata will be closed for commercial use during this time, except for charter planes that may be carrying guests heading to the funeral. Commercial flights will be diverted to the airport in East London. - SAnews.gov.za