141 Copyright © 2016, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 11 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-9967-0.ch011 ABSTRACT History and the live broadcasting of ceremonial events have been linked throughout the 20th century. Events in the 21st century, however, especially since 9/11, suggest that the study of “media events” – those mesmerising broadcasts that have the power to historicise events instantly – cannot be limited to pre-planned, hegemonic and celebratory occasions (as was the case with Dayan and Katz’s 1992 book Media Events: The Live Broadcasting of History). Instead, it must be extended to include the spontane- ous live broadcasting of historical tragedies. More than this, in the early years of the new millennium, critics predicted that non-integrative broadcasts (of terror, war and disaster) would upstage traditional media events. This chapter examines Nelson Mandela’s funeral broadcast, and its implications for media events theory. It argues that, contrary to expectations of media events’ waning fate, in the age of social media, we should not be too hasty to dismiss audience desire for shared experience and the possibilities of integrative events. INTRODUCTION [Mandela] was, and by the time of his death was universally held to be, a great man; he may well be the last of the great men, as the concept of greatness retires into the historical shadows. – J.M. Coetzee Sydney Morning Herald, 6 December 2013 The Last Historic TV Star? Nelson Mandela’s Funeral Broadcast, Social Media and the Future of Media Events Martha Evans University of Cape Town, South Africa