Dancing in pyjamas and dressing gowns to the sounds of the vuvuzela, South Africans' extraordinary celebration of the man who won their freedom
- Hundreds of mourners gather outside Nelson Mandela's Johannesburg home today as mood turns to patriotic pride
- The first to pay tribute came in their dressing gowns, laying flowers and lighting candles as they prayed quietly
- Later the emotional tribute took on a lively air as people linked arms, danced, and sang struggle songs in Houghton
- One even blew on a vuvuzela, evoking memories of the 2010 World Cup, as others waved flags and changed 'Mandela'
- Similar tributes took place outside his old home in Soweto, at Mandela Square in Johannesburg, and across the world
Draped in flags, South African football shirts, and even their pyjamas and dressing gowns, hundreds of mourners took to the streets around the Johannesburg house of former South African President Nelson Mandela last night as news broke of the death of the man who gave them freedom.
By this morning, as South Africa awoke to a country without its spiritual and moral leader, the mood of the crowd outside the property in the wealthy estate of Houghton, where Mandela died aged 95, had changed to one of exuberant celebration of a man whose struggle had touched so many.
Police had set up a cordon in the exclusive street but there was no sign of trouble - instead people joined in a spontaneous tribute to Mandela, where one man played a vuvuzela and others linked arms and sang struggle songs while swaying in front of a framed photograph of Mandela propped against a tree.
Grief and joy: The mood of the vigil outside the former president's home in Houghton, Johannesburg, turned from quiet grief into an exuberant celebration of his life
Iin the hours since Mandela's death South Africa has seen an outpouring of grief, and also an exuberant celebration of his life by people of every colour
Mourners bearing candles and flowers added their tributes to the shrines around Mandela's house in Johannesburg this morning
A life that touched so many: A mourner touches a photograph of the late South African president outside his Johannesburg home this morning
This morning the mourners outside Mandela's house in Houghton were joined by children, black and white, born long after the era of apartheid but keen to pay their respects to the former leader
Celebration of his life: Police had set up cordons outside Mandela's house in Houghton but there was no trouble - instead crowds danced and sang struggle songs
United in pride: People of all colours descended upon the streets around the president's house to pay tribute to his life as the mood changed from sombre to joyful
Tribute: As news of Mandela's death filtered out late last night, residents of Johannesburg came to the suburb where he lived to light candles in his honour
Mourners who joined the all-night vigil outside Mandela's home brought tributes with them - this man brought the front page of a newspaper commemorating his life
As dawn broke on the leafy suburb where Mandela died last night, mourners lit candles and laid flowers, flags and soft toys in a shrine for the former president
Patriotic celebration: The mood of those outside Mandela's house turned from one of grief to one of joy as mourners danced and sang songs in his honour
Tears: Many of those who came to pay tribute to the man who gave them their freedom brought their children with them
Brought together by grief: South African people hold hands outside Mandela's house after learning of his death at the age of 95
Tribute for our brother: People gather on Vilakazi Street in the black township of Soweto, where Mandela lived during the 1940s and 1950s
People read a newspaper on Vilakazi Street in Soweto, where Mandela once lived - mourners marched around the block chanting his name
Two women console each other on Vilakazi Street in Soweto - police officers watched as mourners sang songs, held hands and swayed outside Mandela's early home
In the village of Qunu, where Mandela grew up, soldiers with armoured vehicles guarded his childhood home, but again the feeling was one of peaceful remembrance
While many people looked sombre and visibly emotional following news of Mandela's death, others celebrated his achievements by dancing and singing
Hundreds of people are seen dancing and singing as they celebrate the life of Madiba in the city of Johannesburg
Although many people were in a sombre mood following the announcement, there was a celebratory mood in Houghton
Paying tribute to a leader: South Africans chanted in joyful remembrance as they celebrated the life of Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg last night
As news filtered through that Mandela was dead, mourners arrived at his house in the exclusive Johannesburg suburb of Houghton
Mourners waved South Africa flags and clapped in the leafy streets outside the former President's home in Houghton last night - the mood of grief turned to one of celebration as the crowd grew
While some mourners lit candles and said quiet prayers, others danced, chanted Mandela's name, while one mourner even played a the vuvuzela plastic horn, evoking memories of the 2010 World Cup.
Many came to leave flowers, soft toys, photographs and handwritten tributes on the grass verges in the leafy suburb outside the house where Mandela had been lying in a critical condition for the past few months.
Dressed in the green, yellow and black colours of Mandela's party, the African National Congress, people waved South Africa flags, embraced each other and clapped and chanted as they remembered their first democratically-elected president.
As President Jacob Zuma ordered flags to be lowered to half-mast from today until after a state funeral in tribute, crowds made up of all creeds, races and religions sang loudly together, danced and waved candles just yards from his house.
Many chanted 'It's in our hands now', referring to the legacy that Mandela has left and that many of the crowd now feel is their responsibility to continue.
A group of women laid a cloth bearing a picture of Mandela's face on the street before linking hands and singing gospel songs in a circle around it.Others mourned the loss of a leader and prayed he would find peace after months of ill-health.
Mourners held a flag with Mr Mandela's face on as they chanted slogans outside his house - many wore green, yellow and black in tribute to his party
Police closed the road outside Mandela's house off and military helicopters flew above the scene but the mood was peaceful rather than hostile
As well as a crowd of several hundred, President Zuma's family also came to pay their respects to Mandela
Military helicopters flew overhead as Johannesburg residents sang 'Nelson Mandela, Nelson Mandela, there's nobody like him.'
The road outside the former president's house was closed off at both ends by police but it didn't stop the numbers of those who had come to mourn his passing and celebrate his life gathering where they could.
Outside the house, 31-year-old Hamsa Moosa said he 'wouldn't be free' were it not for the man affectionately known by his clan name, Madiba.
Accountant Thumelo Madikwe, 29, said Mandela played his role in the world 'very well', while another mourner said: 'He's viewed as a peace icon. He fought for the country, for the people. I've the utmost respect for the man.
'I respected his dignity, his respect towards young children and towards all religions.
'His loss is a huge loss to the country.
There were similar scenes in the black township of Soweto, centred on Vilakazi Street, where Mandela lived during the 1940s and 1950s. There, mourners marched around the block singing songs praising Mandela and the role he played in the struggle against apartheid.
Hundreds of people pack the streets of Johannesburg. One man said crowds were 'celebrating his life, not mourning his death'
The first mourners arrived on the scene in their dressing gowns as news of Jacob Zuma's announcement filtered through South Africa
We are celebrating his life and all that he did for us,' said Terry Mokoena, 47. 'I am happy that he is now at peace. He has done so much for us, it would be greedy for us to say that he should do more. Mandela united us - black, white, coloured and Indian - he taught us togetherness.'
Mbulelo Radebe, 37, said: 'He came here to Soweto as a lawyer and he led us. When he came out of jail in 1994, after 27 years, he did not come out a bitter man and encourage us to fight; no, he came out with a message of peace.
'What we see here is people celebrating his life not mourning his death.'
When asked what South Africans respected most about the former president, one of the mourners said it was his sense of 'peace'.
She told Sky News that while the nation faces an uncertain future, she hopes that Mandela's legacy will lead the nation to better things.
She said: 'I don't know what will happen now but I'm hoping for the best. I'm hopeful that his legacy will open a lot of people's eyes.'
Peter Roos, a 20-year-old bar man from Centurion, a town next to Pretoria, told the South African Star: 'It's a big tragedy for a lot of South Africa. People don't have guidance anymore.'
People listen to a radio outside Mr Mandela's house as news of his death was announced by South African president Jacob Zuma
End of an era: People gathered outside Mr Mandela's home in Houghton, Johannesburg, as the news broke that he had died late last night aged 95
South African police set up a cordon outside the house of former president Mr Mandela but the mood in the crowds was one of joyful remembrance of the man who gave them their freedom
Police cordoned off both ends of the Mandela's road in Johannesburg, as hundreds of people descended on the smart suburb wanting to light candles, say prayers, and remember their former president
Press gather outside the former President's home, before his death was announced last night
The scenes of remembrance in South Africa were replicated across the world as people also gathered in various cities to pay their respects to Mandela.
Crowds gathered at Nelson Mandela House in Trafalgar Square, London and laid floral tributes at the feet of his statue in Parliament Square.
People also posed for pictures and paid tribute to Mr Mandela at a statue of the man in Washington, while flowers were laid outside the South African embassy in Beijing, and the French Prime Minister said flags there would fly at half-mast in tribute.
Floral tributes in memory of former president Nelson Mandela were laid outside South Africa House in London's Trafalgar Square this morning
Flowers and tributes were laid in front of a portrait of Mandela outside the South African embassy in Beijing today as mourners across the world paid their respects
People also took to the streets of London to mourn Mr Mandela. A small crowd is pictured outside South Africa house in Trafalgar Square
A woman holds a sign at a gathering in memory of Nelson Mandela outside the South African High Commission across from Trafalgar Square
Flowers, candles and tributes were left outside South Africa House in Trafalgar Square in central London last night after news of Mandela's death broke
Keaton Anderson, 10, poses for a photograph at the statue of Nelson Mandela at the South African Embassy in Washington
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