Here's the LIVE update:
6:30 pm: The 95,000 capacity stadium thins out soon after Obama's speech, and there are boos when Jacob Zuma spoke. Zuma announces that the theatre where Mandela will lie in state from tomorrow till his burial on Sunday will be renamed after him.
6.05pm IST: Pranab Mukherjee: Madiba often acknowledged influence of Gandhi and first PM of India nehru. It is no wonder that we attach great sentiment to the people of this great country. We stand by you during this hour of grief and share your loss.
6.03pm IST: Pranab Mukherjee: He never diminshed his commitment to Satyagraha. We conferred upon Mandela the highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna which means jewel of India. When he visited Indian in 1995, he visited gandhi's Sabarmati ashram and said it was a homecoming for him. We associate SA with first chapter of gandhi's freedom struggle. It's his principles that Madiba identified with.
6.02pm IST: Pranab Mukherjee: People of India join South Africa in paying homage to beloved Madibs. For India, passing of mandela represents departure of a great soul. We pray for his eternal peace. He pursued a seemingly impossible goal for his people. We in India have long admired him and all he stood for. We will always cherish that. To us Mandela was a visionary. He epitomised an uncommon humanness that inspired all of mankind. He was an icon. He was a towering personality of great wisdom. He reminded us of principles our Father of the Nation stood for.
5.58pm IST: President Pranab Mukherjee begins his tribute to Nelson Mandela.
5.50pm IST: Supermodel Naomi Campbell is among those reportedly present to remember Mandela. When he died, she described him as 'my mentor, my honorary grandfather, my Tata. Nelson Mandela has stood as a figure of strength, hope, freedom, selflessness and love, and I join everyone across the world in mourning his passing,' she said.'Since meeting him in 1993, he's guided me and gave me a reason for being in the tough times of my life. He changed my perception of the world'.
5.41pm IST: President Pranab Mukherjee is accompanied by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj, Union commerce minister Anand Sharma, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury and BSP leader Satish Mishra, reflecting the high-esteem Mandela held across the entire political spectrum in India. He is one of only six heads of state who will address the crowd at the memorial service.
5.31pm IST: President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff pays her tributes at the Mandela memorial.
5:28 pm: As Obama shakes hands with world leaders, he has a momentous handshake with Raul Caustro, brother of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Raul Castro speaks to Obama for almost a minute. This was the second handshake between US and Cuban leaders since the 1960 CUb
5.20pm IST: Barack Obama: He makes me want to be a better man. He speaks to what is best inside us. Let us search for his strength. We will miss him deeply. God bless the memory of Mandela. May God bless the people of SA.
5: 19 pm: Obama says: "We will never see the likes of Mandela again. While I will always fall short of Madiba's example, he makes me want to be a better man."
5.14pm IST: Barack Obama: He taught millions to find truth within themselves. He changed laws but he also changed hearts. For the people of SA, for those he inspired, his passing is a time for mourning and a time to celebrate a life. It is also a time of self-reflection.
5:10 pm: Obama compares Mandela with Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Abraham Lincoln.
5.05pm IST: Mandela was a man of flesh and blood says Obama: Madiba insisted on sharing with us his doubts, fears, miscalculations and victories.
I'm not a saint, he said, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps trying. He was full of humour and even mischief.
He was a man of flesh and blood, a son and a husband, a father and a friend. And that's why we learned so much from him and can still.
He earned a place in history through struggle, faith and persistance.
He tells us what is possible in our own lives as well. He showed us the power of action, on taking risks.
He inherited a proud rebelliousness
5 pm: Obama addresses the crowd: "South Africa, the world thanks you for sharing Mandela with us. His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph. Madiba would emerge as the last great liberator of the 21st century."
4:59 pm IST: US President Barack Obama begins his tribute to Nelson Mandela
4:35 pm IST: Celebrities reportedly present at the memorial service include US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, singers Peter Gabriel and Bono, supermodel Naomi Campbell and entrepreneur Richard Branson
4:34 pm IST: Ban Ki-Moon: Mandela hated hatred. All are here, all are united today. It is our duty to love him and keep his memory lalive in our hearts. May he rest in peace
4:32 pm IST: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon praises Mandela. "The world has lost a beloved friend and mentor. Mandela was more than one of the greatest leaders of all time."
4: 30 pm IST: Loudest cheer of the day as Obama arrives finally.
4:15 pm IST: Crowd boos South African President Jacob Zuma, facing corruption charges, openly.
4:13 pm IST: Nelson Mandela's nephew General Thanduxolo Mandela addresses gathering at the memorial service
4:05 pm IST: Mandela's friend and African National Congress leader Andrew Mlangeni, 87, gives emotional speech. "I'm told my time is up", he says in a cracking voice.
3:45 pm IST: ANC's Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the crowd. He begins by apologising for the rains, but saying, to the cheer of crowd, that is how Mandela would have liked it
3:38 pm IST: Priests from different religions including Hinduism and Islam join an inter-faith prayer service.
3:30 pm IST: More than 100 countries represented at the memorial service.
3:28 pm IST: Entire stadium sings the South African national anthem.
3:22 pm IST: South African President Jacob Zuma arrives at the stadium, greets world leaders, puts his left hand on Pranab Mukherjee's shoulder
3:00 pm IST: The Cuban and Brazilian leaders, Raul Castro and Dilma Roussef, have arrived. Both are due to speak at the delayed service.
2:51 pm IST: Ban Ki-moon arrives. The arrival of the UN secretary general in the stadium was greeted with extraordinary cheers.
Bill Clinton, and his daughter Chelsea, have made it through the traffic.
The French president François Hollande, and his predecessor Nicholas Sarkozy, have arrived.
China's vice president Li Yuanchao, who is one of the foreign dignitaries due to speak, has been spotted.
President Zuma, who is due to speak at the service, has also arrived.
Thabo Mbeki, Mandela' successor as South Africa president, has arrived.
David Cameron has arrived, according to Johannesburg-based journalist Richard Poplak.
