Mandela: Obama Lightens A Rainy Day
Updated: 6:58pm UK, Tuesday 10 December 2013
By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor
They came, they saw, they spoke, and spoke, and spoke, and most of them bored people, and then Barack Obama arrived.
He lifted spirits, captured the moment, and reminded us that, no matter the stadium was half full, the world was watching.
The dignitaries made speech after speech. Many of the approximately 50,000 people in the stadium, which holds 90,000, appeared not to listen. Until Mr Obama took the stage.
Most speakers were dull, some seemed unable to end their speeches, a few were inspiring, but Mr Obama showed us all how it can be done and it was no surprise that when he left halfway through the ceremony, so did thousands of other people.
In South Africa, it is an honour if it rains at an occasion such as this. So the heavens opened and poured a deluge on the crowds who sang and danced under a panoply of colourful umbrellas. The weather may explain a turnout far lower than the authorities expected.
Large sections of the FNB stadium near Soweto were empty and thus vividly displaying the orange seats not taken by South Africans. The three overflow stadiums in nearby Orlando, Dobonsville, and Rand had at best a few hundred people in total present.
The government had planned for another 90 screens to be set up around the country for people to gather and watch the first stage of the long goodbye - it seems most preferred the privacy of their own homes, television sets and thoughts.
Those who did brave the conditions at the FNB were treated to the sight of Mr Obama, who arrived to huge cheers. That was in contrast to the arrival of their own President. Jacob Zuma was soundly booed when introduced and an embarrassed Cyril Ramaphosa, deputy head of the ANC, had to ask the crowd for "discipline".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stepped up to the podium to loud cheers, which is not something the shy but friendly South Korean is used to.
Francois Hollande, of France, was ignored, and in turn mostly ignored the man he was sitting next to, his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy. They sat together but had apparently - because they dislike each other so much - flown to South Africa in different planes.
Various former British prime ministers and current EU dignitaries showed up to add to the security and traffic chaos, but no one appeared to notice them very much.
Mr Obama shook hands with Raul Castro of Cuba, the British didn't go anywhere near Mr Mugabe, and no one recognised the Israeli delegation as it appeared to be comprised of deputy vice foreign ministers, deputy second secretaries from the ministry of agriculture, and the driver from the embassy who was dragged in on his day off.
Former US president Bill Clinton still had star quality though and drew people to him like a magnet.
Mr Obama does the same, and there's a reason why. Like Mr Clinton before him, he knows the right thing to say, when to say it, and how to say it.
He used the Bantu word 'Ubuntu' saying Mr Mandela recognised its meaning - that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye.
There was a jab aimed at some of his fellow leaders when he said: "There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba's struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people."
He ended with what from some people could sound formulaic, but from the American president sounded like a man on form: "What a great soul it was. We will miss him deeply. May God bless the memory of Nelson Mandela. May God bless the people of South Africa."
The great speech maker rose to the occasion and the crowd rose to him and the memory of a great man.
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.
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