FOLLOWING up on its 2013 top 10 video popularity lists released on Wednesday, YouTube on Thursday released a list of the most watched Nelson Mandela-related videos of the year.
The list is populated entirely by tributes, many of which came from American news organisations such as The New York Times, CNN and PBS. It also features poetry and songs, some containing words from Mandela himself, others simply dedicated to him.
But the most watched video was U2’s Ordinary Love, from the soundtrack of the recently released biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. The film was released only a few weeks before Mandela’s death and the song was featured prominently in promoting it.
U2 lead singer Bono attended the national memorial service for Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
A still from a video showing US President Barack Obama speaking from the White House soon after the death of Nelson Mandela last week. (Business Day)
The South African Rugby Association had the 10th most views with its tribute, which featuredMandela speaking about rugby. The association wrote that it wanted the video to show “what a massive impact former president Nelson Mandela had on the world, South Africa and rugby in particular”.
US President Barack Obama made the list with his initial reaction to Mandela’s death from the White House press room.
South African retailer Woolworths was in fourth place with its moving video of the Soweto Gospel Choir posing as Parkview store employees before breaking into a song dedicated to Mandela.
The Nelson Mandela Centre for Memory also made it, with a video featuring short messages from a variety of world leaders, including the Dali Lama, former US president Bill Clinton, Richard Branson and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. The video implores viewers to do something worthwhile for someone else on July 18, International Nelson Mandela Day.
After U2, the next most popular video was a poem by Maya Angelou, released by the official account of the US State Department on behalf of the American people.
The poem, titled His Day Was Done, is recited by Dr Angelou against the backdrop of memorable scenes from Mandela’s life.
She recounts the profound effect Mandela had on oppressed people in the US and across the world, finishing the poem with: “We will not forget you, we will not dishonour you, we will remember and be glad that you lived among us, that you taught us, and that you loved us, all.”