KEY POINTS:
A large contingent of foreign dignitaries and people aligned with causes close to the heart of Sir Edmund Hillary will be attending his state funeral today.
The list includes official representatives from Ireland, Australia, Canada, Britain, Nepal, India, Russia, the United States and Tonga.
Several governments have sent ministers to attend the funeral, while there will also be a large group of representatives from diplomatic missions to New Zealand and Canberra present.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was an honour for New Zealand to host the foreign government representatives, with people from the Sherpa community who will attend, a group from the 1953 expedition to Everest, and philanthropists who have supported the Himalayan Trust.
Among those coming are Norbu Tenzing, the eldest son of Tenzing Norgay, and five couples representing the 1953 expedition - George and Susan Band, Mike and Sally Westmacott, Alfred and Sue Gregory, George and Mary Lowe, and Jan and Elizabeth Morris.
Members of the Everest group have travelled from as far as Britain and Australia. Among the US contingent will be Ambassador to New Zealand Bill McCormick, and the director of the US National Park Service, Mary A. Bomar, who heads a team of 20,000 staff and 140,000 volunteers, looking after 390 sites across the country.
"Sir Ed's achievements, and his humanity, impressed and touched so many people around the globe," Helen Clark said.
