JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela’s memorial on Tuesday at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium promises to be one of the largest such gatherings in generations.

The White House says President Barack Obama will travel to South Africa next week to pay respects, but it didn’t say whether he will attend the memorial or the smaller funeral on Dec. 15 in Mandela’s hometown. If history is a guide, dozens of other presidents, prime ministers and royals are expected to pay their respects.

Here is a look at memorials in recent decades that drew the world’s attention — and its leaders.

— Winston Churchill: His 1965 funeral was attended by “Four kings, two queens, presidents — including France’s Gen. Charles de Gaulle in uniform — prime ministers and statesmen from 113 nations.”

— Pope John Paul II: His 2005 funeral drew President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac among “dignitaries from more than 80 countries

— President John F. Kennedy: His 1963 funeral was attended by 28 presidents, prime ministers and kings.

— Yitzhak Rabin: The 1995 funeral for the assassinated Israeli prime minister was attended by President Bill Clinton and over 40 other presidents or prime ministers.

— Princess Diana: While her 1997 funeral drew British Prime Minister Tony Blair, then-US first lady Hillary Clinton and many foreign dignitaries, “organizers said they wanted to keep the number of politicians low to accommodate Diana’s friends and people connected with charities she supported.”

— Mao Zedong: While a million people attended a memorial rally in Beijing for the Chinese leader in 1976, the government closed itself off from the world. “No foreign dignitaries were invited to Peking for the rally.”

— Anwar Sadat: Three former US presidents attended the Egyptian president’s 1981 funeral, as well as about a dozen heads of state and Prince Charles and other royalty.

— Nelson Mandela: After the memorial service, Mandela’s body then will lie in state in Pretoria for three days, and he will be buried during a state funeral in his rural hometown of Qunu on Dec. 15.