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Clinton Leads Stars in Mandela's 85th Birthday Bash
By Andrew Quinn
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela celebrated a star-studded 85th birthday on Saturday, partying with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and hundreds of well-wishers.
The former South African president joined Irish rock star Bono and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu at a banquet for 1,600 people to celebrate his July 18 birthday, marked across South Africa as a day to hail "Madiba" -- the tribal name by which the anti-apartheid hero is known to millions of South Africans.
Mandela's South African invitations spanned the range of his many years of political activity, stretching from fellow struggle hero and Nobel peace laureate Tutu to white South Africa's last president, F.W. de Klerk.
International luminaries in attendance included Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, former Zambian President Kenneth Kuanda, and a collection of local pop stars and business heavyweights, as well as his cook and gardener.
"We thank God for you Madiba, for teaching us to forgive," said Tutu of the man who led South Africa down the road to democracy, peace and reconciliation.
"We thank you Madiba for making our country a beacon of hope for the rest of the world," Clinton said.
Written salutations came from international leaders ranging from Britain's Queen Elizabeth to Cuba's President Fidel Castro and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.
A particularly poignant birthday message came from Wilma Verwoerd, the 13-year-old great-granddaughter of Hendrik Verwoerd, the man known as the architect of whites-only rule and prime minister when Mandela was sentenced to 27 years in prison in 1964.
"You've changed my life for the better. You've taught me to love people of all races and colors," Verwoerd wrote in a letter shown on massive video screens at the party.
"Happy Birthday Mr. Mandela. I hope you get some nice presents."
IRISH THEME
The birthday bash had a distinctly Irish theme -- rock star Bono joined Irish band the Corrs on stage while Clinton quoted verses by Irish Nobel literature laureate Seamus Heaney in praise of Mandela.
"You have made hope and history thrive. You have made beautiful music in all our lives. I hope our birthday present to you will be a lifetime of service, to make Africa all it can be, and to make the world the village your life deserves," he said.
The banquet was Mandela's biggest party since his 80th birthday celebrations, when he married his third wife, former Mozambican first lady Graca Machel.
Mandela and Machel boogied with Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, as confetti showered down and a collection of South African and international stars -- both black and white -- serenaded the man revered as Africa's elder statesman.
"I have deep, deep love for him," said Winfrey. "Madiba is an inspiration for all of our hearts."
Mandela's 85th birthday celebration has been marked all week in South Africa, and will culminate on Sunday when the former president opens a new bridge connecting impoverished central Johannesburg to the city's plush northern suburbs -- a symbolic linking of black and white residents of the city.
Thanks to Nick!
Clinton Leads Stars in Mandela's 85th Birthday Bash
By Andrew Quinn
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela celebrated a star-studded 85th birthday on Saturday, partying with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and hundreds of well-wishers.
The former South African president joined Irish rock star Bono and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu at a banquet for 1,600 people to celebrate his July 18 birthday, marked across South Africa as a day to hail "Madiba" -- the tribal name by which the anti-apartheid hero is known to millions of South Africans.
Mandela's South African invitations spanned the range of his many years of political activity, stretching from fellow struggle hero and Nobel peace laureate Tutu to white South Africa's last president, F.W. de Klerk.
International luminaries in attendance included Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, former Zambian President Kenneth Kuanda, and a collection of local pop stars and business heavyweights, as well as his cook and gardener.
"We thank God for you Madiba, for teaching us to forgive," said Tutu of the man who led South Africa down the road to democracy, peace and reconciliation.
"We thank you Madiba for making our country a beacon of hope for the rest of the world," Clinton said.
Written salutations came from international leaders ranging from Britain's Queen Elizabeth to Cuba's President Fidel Castro and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.
A particularly poignant birthday message came from Wilma Verwoerd, the 13-year-old great-granddaughter of Hendrik Verwoerd, the man known as the architect of whites-only rule and prime minister when Mandela was sentenced to 27 years in prison in 1964.
"You've changed my life for the better. You've taught me to love people of all races and colors," Verwoerd wrote in a letter shown on massive video screens at the party.
"Happy Birthday Mr. Mandela. I hope you get some nice presents."
IRISH THEME
The birthday bash had a distinctly Irish theme -- rock star Bono joined Irish band the Corrs on stage while Clinton quoted verses by Irish Nobel literature laureate Seamus Heaney in praise of Mandela.
"You have made hope and history thrive. You have made beautiful music in all our lives. I hope our birthday present to you will be a lifetime of service, to make Africa all it can be, and to make the world the village your life deserves," he said.
The banquet was Mandela's biggest party since his 80th birthday celebrations, when he married his third wife, former Mozambican first lady Graca Machel.
Mandela and Machel boogied with Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, as confetti showered down and a collection of South African and international stars -- both black and white -- serenaded the man revered as Africa's elder statesman.
"I have deep, deep love for him," said Winfrey. "Madiba is an inspiration for all of our hearts."
Mandela's 85th birthday celebration has been marked all week in South Africa, and will culminate on Sunday when the former president opens a new bridge connecting impoverished central Johannesburg to the city's plush northern suburbs -- a symbolic linking of black and white residents of the city.
Thanks to Nick!