reporter: they sure do. this crowd is celebrating the life of nelson mandela. there s a sense of joy here. this is not mourning. this is pride, solidarity with each other. this is gratitude for the tremendous gift, and this is song, just as a country earlier on, the halls of the stadium were filled with crowds of men and women, the dancing and singing as they come through the halls of the stadium. and i was watching them and a man said to me, this is who we are as africans. we mark every passage of our lives in song. we grieve in song. we re happy in song. we mark marriages and funerals in song. and that s what they ve been doing here. and sometimes it might be hard to conduct a formal ceremony when the crowd just wants to sing. the rain has been called a
go ahead, terry. reporter: i just wanted to let you know that the crowd is following this with incredible attention at the same time as byron pointed out in the upper deck which is sheltered from the rain as they re preparing meals and living today they have come here for the duration, to celebrate this man. and to listen to what their leaders and the world leaders have to say. this is a moment to take ownership. they re grading these guys, no question about it. you can sense the response that each of these speaker get as they come to the podium and as they leave. so it s a soccer stadium, a moment of celebration for the life of nelson mandela. and it s a political moment, too, for the people of south africa. let s try again to listen to the former prisoner with nelson
expected, with some of the leaders coming in. it s a grand event and a personal one, as well. there s no question that the people here, you see it now, about half full. about 40,000 people or so who are here. we came in on the train this morning with many, many people, very festive situation here. [ booing ] reporter: see who they re booing. so many people said, i had to be here after what this man did for me in my life. not i admired him, not i voted for him, not i supported him, but he changed my life. i wouldn t have the opportunity that i have today. i wouldn t have the sense of pride and equality i have today if it were not for what this man gave to me, sacrificed for me. we hear that all the time here. and out around the countryside. and not just from black people. i spoke with an afrikaner farmer
blessing, it certainly is in the african tradition. it s creating a little trouble with the schedule today. they ve been moving in and out of order. we do expect president obama to be speaking after dr. zuma, coming up shortly. we ll stay on the air as we prepare. and john karl, i want to go back to you in the white house. it was clear how moved the president was by that visit to south africa and that pilgrimage to robben island earlier this year. reporter: that s right. clearly the emotional high point of what was a very emotional trip to africa by the first african-american president. he went to robben island, got a tour of mandela s eight-by-eight cell and the quartery where he did so many years of hard labor. you see the daughters joined, machel joined. and prisoners of robben island,
reporter: i think people are paying attention. the audio is difficult. talking about winnie mandela, in the streets of south africa, the people who adore her and the people who despise her because of the issues you sdwruftsed. she clearly discussed. she clearly was part of nelson mandela s success. she kept the movement alive. this is a woman consider this. she s 60 years younger. when they married, she was 21 years old. when mandela brought her to her first anc meeting, she was a social worker. a lot of older women in the movement balked and said, why bring her? she s too pretty to be a freedom fighter. she grew into the role. this woman spent 461 days in pris prison. she and mandela were married