Hundreds of presidents, prime ministers, royals and celebrities are to fly to South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s funeral during 10 days of ceremonies to mark his extraordinary life.

Leaked documents reveal the scale of the memorial events being planned as part of the state funeral announced by South African President Jacob Zuma.

They will also cater for millions of ordinary South Africans who revere Mandela like a saint.

Every living American president is expected to attend, health permitting, as well as royals including Prince Charles and celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey.

A public “Ceremony of Remembrance” is due to be held on Monday at Soweto’s 90,000-capacity Soccer City stadium, where Mandela made his last public appearance at the Football World Cup closing ceremony in July 2010.

His body will then be taken to Pretoria’s city hall to lie in state for three days. A television camera will broadcast 24-hour rolling footage of people paying their respects.

The funeral and burial will be at the Mandela family’s home in the village of Qunu, in South Africa’s rural Eastern Cape region, where the former President was born.

It is thought that the funeral is likely to be held around next weekend.

The memorial ceremonies are expected to form the biggest and most watched public event ever held in Africa, if not the world.

•Excerpted from London Evening Standard. Photo shows the late Nelson Mandela.