The body will lie in State for three days at the Union Building, where he was democratically elected head of state almost 20 years ago.
The public will be able to view the body from 8am until 5:30pm on Thursday and Friday. Public viewing platforms will be set up at the Union Building though no cameras or cell phones are permitted.
Mandela’s body will be transported every day from the One Military Hospital in Thaba Thswane to the Union Building. All road works will be stopped during viewing times, opening up streets to the flood of visitors that will enter Pretoria, which is the adminstrative capital of South Africa and is contained within the municipality of Tshwane. Extra bus routes will also be added to accomodate for the crowds who will descend on the city.
The mayor ot Thswane, Kgosientso Ramokgopa said the capital city was in the difficult position of preparing for an unkown amount of visitors but will focus on causing as little disruption as possible, emphasising the need to reduce the number of private cars in the city centre.
There will be events and activities throughout the week in Tshwane with the city’s official memorial held on Thursday at the 29,000-seater Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville.
Image credit: Getty
