International football legend George Weah will be sworn in as Liberia’s president at a packed stadium in the capital, Monrovia, later today.
People have been camping overnight at the Samuel Doe Stadium to witness the historic inauguration, following Mr Weah’s victory in a presidential election run-off in December.
Unsurprisingly, this is a celebrity football studded affair. Chelsea legend Didier Drogba is here, along with Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o and Nigeria’s Sunday Oliseh and Taribo West.
There were even rumours at some stage Messi was in town.
Weah, famed for his Chelsea and Manchester City playing days, made history by becoming the only African to win the Ballon d’or.
He replaces Africa’s first elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is stepping down after two terms, in the first democratic transfer of power in the West African state in more than 70 years.
The Country Giant, as Weah is known, has inherited a country ravaged by war in the 1990s, only to be hit by the devastating Ebola virus a few years ago.
Ms Johnson Sirleaf secured nearly $5bn in debt relief during her term, attracting investors from all over the world.
But the Ebola epidemic scared many of them off.
Mr Weah has a massive job on his hands to turn the economy around.
But the majority of the country seems unphased – convinced their new celebrity president, with his celebrity connections, can do the job.
Source: BBC
