JOHANNESBURG — World leaders and celebrities swarmed to Johannesburg on Sunday for the World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain, but Nelson Mandela's possible attendance remained a mystery.
South Africa's first black president played a critical role in bringing the games to his country, but the Nobel laureate who turns 92 next weekend has yet to make it to a match.
Many are aching to relive the moment at the 1995 rugby World Cup, when Mandela donned the jersey of South Africa's victorious and mainly white Springboks, in a moment now seen as a symbol of national healing.
Just hours before the closing ceremony in Soccer City, his foundation said no decision had been taken on whether he would attend the final, after a death in his family forced a last-minute cancellation of his appearance at the June 11 opener.
"We have no new information whether he will attend or not," said Sello Hatang, spokesman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
But Mandela's spirit has loomed large over the four-week tournament, which has been repeatedly compared to the national euphoria that greeted his release from an apartheid prison 20 years ago.
With 500 million viewers expected to watch the final on television, South Africa has delighted in proving wrong sceptics' fears about the host country's ability to pull it off.
In a thank-you note to the nation, Danny Jordaan, the top local organiser, said the tournament had changed the nation.
"This is now a country brimming with the enduring self-confidence that comes from the knowledge that it has staged a successful World Cup," he wrote in the Sunday Times.
President Jacob Zuma praised South Africans for "embracing one another and Africa" during the month-long World Cup party.
"We are coming to the end of a historic, vibrant and very African FIFA Soccer World Cup," he said on the eve of the final.
"Let us keep celebrating, let the vuvuzelas keep blowing and let the football festival continue at Soccer City and the fan parks until the final whistle. This has been a truly inspiring, moving and uplifting month".
Tickets to the sold-out final are the hottest in the country, with the 140- to 900-dollar (110- to 710-euro) seats reselling for up to 2,500 dollars online.
Some fans swam across a crocodile-infested river, tattooed themselves in sensitive places or waxed their entire bodies in an effort to win tickets from a local radio station.
The rich, famous and powerful will also be in the stands Sunday, with FIFA expecting 17 heads of state, plus two Nobel laureates, a raft of Hollywood stars, Queen Sofia of Spain as well as Prince Albert of Monaco -- with his South African fiancee.
FIFA says overall attendance at all World Cup matches has topped three million, only the third tournament to do so.
Organisers again encouraged fans to arrive early at the showcase Soccer City stadium after bumper-to-bumper traffic the day of the first match made many ticket-holders miss the opening ceremony.
Gates will open four hours before the 1630 GMT closing ceremony, which will feature Colombian superstar Shakira, South African Grammy-winning vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo and more than 700 performers.
"We're really urging people to arrive early," said Derek Carstens, marketing chief for the local organising committee.
"We expect a full house, and we're saying to people to come and make the most of this event".
Police said fans without tickets should not go to the stadium and urged people to use public transport. Road and air traffic restrictions near the stadium will be in force.
"Resources will be in place to ensure the safety of teams, fans and VIP guests expected to attend the closing ceremony and the final in Soweto," the national security centre said.
Extra flights from the Netherlands and Spain jetted into Johannesburg as supporters scrambled to be part of the historic final that will see whichever team wins hoist the World Cup for the first time.
Throughout the Netherlands entire streets are lined with orange flags and some homes have been covered with plastic sheets in the national colour.
And in Spain, at least 150,000 fans of La Roja (the Reds) are expected to cram Madrid's main Paseo de Castellana avenue to witness the country's first-ever appearance in a World Cup final on giant screens in a park.
