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Qunu: Hundreds of guests stood and cheered and a Xhosa choir sang "Here is our hope!" as a smiling Nelson Mandela entered a festive tent outside his home on Saturday for the formal celebration of his 90th birthday.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner had celebrated privately with his family in this rural southeastern village on Friday, the day he turned 90.
Saturday was a grand occasion at his homestead in Qunu, 1,000 kilometers south of Johannesburg, where as a boy he herded cattle in the hills.
The anti-apartheid icon walked in with his successor as South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, and African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma, stopping to personally greet a few of the 500 honoured guests as he made his way to the head table.
Zuma called the gathering a celebration of "a life and legacy of a father, grandfather, comrade, warrior, soldier, nation builder and statesman."
Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda caught the festive mood with a tuneful solo of "Happy Birthday" followed by a teasing verse:
"How old are you? State secret!" Then the 84-year-old Kaunda jogged over to shake Mandela's hand.
Some guests came to the party in exquisitely beaded traditional skins, while others wore T-shirts showing Mandela's name.
Mandela himself wore an intricately patterned shirt in shades of brown. The grand party tent was decorated with the blue and orange colours of Mandela's Xhosa tribe and with his clan's crest - a bee flanked by tree branches, symbolising industry, community and strength.
The climax of the afternoon was the cake cutting and a toast.
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