Seating plan diplomacy to be put to the test as world leaders gather

As world leaders head to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis tomorrow, fraught Vatican officials will be poring over logistics in an effort to avoid diplomatic awkwardness.

- Harriet Sherwood

Should Donald Trump be kept away from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy? Or the French president, Emmanuel Macron, or Brazil's leftist leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, or any Iranians who might turn up?

There may be relief that Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, has said he will not attend, but will everyone expect front-row seats? The pope's funeral provides an unexpected opportunity for impromptu international diplomacy and uncomfortable encounters.

The 10am start means most heads of state and political leaders will arrive in Rome this evening, with a brief window for meetings if desired.

"There will be some potentially really interesting dynamics at the funeral," said Francis Campbell, who was the British ambassador to the Holy See between 2005 and 2011.

The last comparable occasion, the funeral of Pope John Paul II in April 2005, was the "diplomatic event of the year", according to the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California.

It "brought numerous world leaders together, including many who would not normally appear in the same country, let alone the same room".