There was a party atmosphere outside Nelson Mandela's former home in the sprawling township of Soweto today as groups of children gathered to honour the former South African president with dance performances.

The children delighted crowds of onlookers and mourners who had come to pay their respects to Mandela and celebrate his life.

Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday, guided South Africa from the shackles of apartheid to a multi-racial democracy.

His former home on Vilakazi Street became the epi-center of the decades-long struggle against apartheid.

Mandela was an icon of peace and reconciliation and came to embody the struggle for justice around the world.

Imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against white minority rule, Mandela emerged determined to use his prestige and charisma to bring down apartheid while avoiding a civil war.