纳尔逊·曼德拉的追悼会——宿敌聚首_BEC初级作文

纳尔逊·曼德拉的追悼会——宿敌聚首

The clamour to honour Mandela looks set to potentially eclipse the funerals of Winston Churchill, Diana, Princess of Wales, John F Kennedy and Pope John Paul – a big organisational ask for any country. Brooks Spector, a Johannesburg-based former US diplomat, said: "Apart from the UN, this looks like the biggest gathering of heads of state there has ever been. It's a rare event that gets the sitting US president and three ex-presidents together except an inauguration. The South African government was preparing in many ways but the tidal wave might have surprised even those preparing."

Asked whether South Africa can cope, Spector replied: "It'll work because it has to work. They won't leave a king on the side of a highway trying to thumb a lift to the FNB Stadium. When they put their minds to it and national honour is at stake, they pull it off. Clearly national honour is at stake on this one.

"This is a shared national moment. It's going to be unique in this nation's history. There's a lot of goodwill and a lot of energy directed towards getting it right."

Mandela's body will lie in state in the capital, Pretoria, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before being flown to Qunu, the village where he grew up. Officials said his burial ceremony would run from 9am to noon on Sunday, with the guest list not exceeding 5,000 people.

No heads of state would be turned away, they added, but they have generally been discouraged from attending because of the daunting logistics in the remote rural area. More than 1,500 journalists have been accredited for the events.