//Update – Apparently the SABC stream below is sporadic. There’s another stream from eNCA which is slightly more stable here.

Many people object to having to pay a TV license, but maybe, just this once, that R265/year fee will seem worthwhile. The national broadcaster, SABC, has made the Nelson Mandela Memorial TV coverage available as a free stream, right on the world’s best video streaming platform, YouTube.

The stream is only in 360p – HD would probably be too demanding for most to view at work, anyway – but the fact that there’s a stream at all is noteworthy. And, no doubt, very much appreciated by the millions in South Africa, and across the world, who can’t gather in the four stadiums across Gauteng.

The memorial itself is being held at the FNB stadium in Orlando, just outside Soweto. This is the stadium in which Madiba made his last public appearance, at the kick-off match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Thankfully, the 94 000-seater stadium was kitted out with the right broadcasting technology, including high-capacity fibre links that would made digital streams a possibility.

Three other stadiums across Gauteng will host remote screenings of the memorial service, but for for those who can’t make it – and take in some of the rainy atmosphere – a YouTube stream will help make the day almost as memorable.

And while you’re waiting for the stream to start, check out this video that TedxSoweto uploaded of a presentation at last month’s event looking at the Mandela Day poster project in which 95 international artists created 95 unique images to celebrate Madiba’s 95th birthday.