South Africa Marks 1-Year Anniversary Of Nelson Mandela's Death (photos)

South Africans are currently marking one year since the death of Nelson Mandela with services, blasting vuvuzelas and a cricket match to honour his enormous legacy as an anti-apartheid icon and global beacon of hope.

An interfaith service kicked off the day's events in Pretoria, at the Freedom Park amphitheatre dedicated to the country's liberation heroes.

"Twenty years of democracy has been possible because of Mandela,"The iconic leader passed away at the age of 95 last year after a long illness.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa led the three-minute silence in the morning, followed by a friendly cricket match, dubbed the Mandela Legacy Cup, between South Africa's national rugby and cricket teams at 1300 GMT.

At the weekend, artists and performers will hold centre stage at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which has launched an exhibition in honour of the life and work of its namesake.

Motorcyclists across the country have also been called on to dedicate their traditional Sunday morning rides to the anti-apartheid hero.

A five-kilometre (three-mile) Nelson Mandela Remembrance Walk will be held in Pretoria on December 13, passing some of the city's historic landmarks, including the Union Buildings, South Africa's seat of government.

The next day, the city's inaugural marathon will dedicate its last mile to Madiba.

Mandela's death was met with a worldwide outpouring of grief.

He set South Africa on a course towards reconciliation after he emerged unbowed from nearly three decades in prison in 1990 and became the country's first president to be elected by universal suffrage in 1994.

His one-time jailer FW de Klerk, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993, called on South Africans to honour his legacy.

"Although Nelson Mandela is no longer physically with us his legacy remains to guide us," he said in a statement.