The Jo’burg Summit is to get a dose of ”Madiba magic” next week, when the former president is scheduled to make numerous appearances with world leaders attending the head of state portion of the event.
The photo opportunities and courtesy calls are at the request of the foreign leaders.
Mandela has maintained a low profile at the event which has, so far, only dominated the headlines in South Africa.
Organisers of the Global Forum non-governmental organisations meeting at Nasrec advertised Mandela as an opening speaker on Monday, but he did not appear.
It later transpired that Mandela had not received an invitation to open the forum and was in the Limpopo Province writing the sequel to his autobiography ”A Long Road to Freedom”.
He was at Northgate on Wednesday to formally launch the Waterdome water awareness campaign, a project running parallel to the 10-day WSSD.
Mandela was accompanied by Africa’s water ambassador Salim Ahmed Salim and Crown Prince Willem Alexander of the Netherlands, a water adviser to the United Nations.
Nelson Mandela Foundation representative Zelda le Grange said on Friday this was one of only two functions the 84-year-old was to attend.
On Monday he and his wife Graca Machel will attend the official opening of the heads of state part of the WSSD at the Sandton Convention Centre.
The courtesy calls start later that morning, when he will pose for photos with German President Gerhard Schroder at his Houghton offices.
French President Jacques Chirac is expected to pop in at 3pm that afternoon.
On Tuesday Mandela will have several more photo opportunities with leaders attending the WSSD, also at his Houghton offices.
At 8.30am he will pose with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and at 9.45am with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
After publicly thanking a number of business people for contributing R8-million to the Nelson Mandela Gateway in Cape Town, the former president will pose with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres at noon.
The pace will slow on Wednesday when he is only expected to pose with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark at 9.45am followed by Mexican President Vicente Fox Quesada.
No photo opportunities are scheduled for Thursday when most WSSD delegates should be winging their way home. – Sapa