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Final farewell for Pele, Brazil's football 'King'
CGTN
Tributes to Pele line the route as his coffin is transferred to the city of Santos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, January 2, 2023. /CFP
Tributes to Pele line the route as his coffin is transferred to the city of Santos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, January 2, 2023. /CFP

Tributes to Pele line the route as his coffin is transferred to the city of Santos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, January 2, 2023. /CFP

Brazilians bid a final farewell this week to football giant Pele, starting Monday with a 24-hour public wake at the stadium of his long-time team, Santos.

The oceanside home of the team nicknamed "Peixe" – "fish" in Portuguese – is expecting a huge influx of fans looking to honor the "King" of football, who died aged 82 on Thursday after a long battle with cancer.

Stadium doors will open at 10:00 am local time. The coffin bearing the remains of the only player to have won three World Cups will be displayed in the center of the field.

Known as Vila Belmiro after the neighborhood where it is located, the black-and-white stadium has a capacity of 16,000 people.

In the stands, three giant flags could be seen Sunday, one with an image of Pele displaying the famous number 10 on his jersey. Another bore the message "Long live the king"; the third said simply, "Pele 82 years."

Entry to the stadium will be allowed until 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, officials said. After that, a procession will be held through the streets of Santos, a port city about 75 kilometers from the state capital Sao Paulo.

The hearse carrying Pele's coffin arrives to Santos as a firework goes off in the early morning ahead of the football legend's funeral in the stadium in Santos, Brazil, January 2, 2023. /CFP
The hearse carrying Pele's coffin arrives to Santos as a firework goes off in the early morning ahead of the football legend's funeral in the stadium in Santos, Brazil, January 2, 2023. /CFP

The hearse carrying Pele's coffin arrives to Santos as a firework goes off in the early morning ahead of the football legend's funeral in the stadium in Santos, Brazil, January 2, 2023. /CFP

The parade will pass the house of Pele's mother, 100-year-old Celeste Arantes, who is unaware that her world-famous son has died.

"She doesn't know," Pele's sister Maria Lucia do Nascimento told ESPN on Friday. "She is not conscious."

The procession will end at a cemetery in Santos, where Pele will be interred in a special mausoleum.

Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele is widely considered to have been the best player yet of the beautiful game.

His death sparked a global outpouring of tributes, with his native Brazil holding three days of national mourning.

He scored 1,283 goals in a career of 21 years, most of them played at Santos.

Wreaths of flowers left by his fans have brought a splash of color to Vila Belmiro, which houses a bust and a statue of the football great.

Pele's jersey statue in the early morning ahead of the football legend's funeral next to Vila Belmiro Stadium in Santos, Brazil, January 2, 2023. /CFP
Pele's jersey statue in the early morning ahead of the football legend's funeral next to Vila Belmiro Stadium in Santos, Brazil, January 2, 2023. /CFP

Pele's jersey statue in the early morning ahead of the football legend's funeral next to Vila Belmiro Stadium in Santos, Brazil, January 2, 2023. /CFP

Silvio Neves Souza, an electrician on holiday from Sao Paulo, took a moment on Sunday to visit the stadium since he will not be able to attend the official ceremony.

"I'm sure a lot of people will come to the wake, not just old people who saw him play, but also young people," the 54-year-old said.

Elsewhere in the city, banners with Pele's face decorate another monument erected in his likeness. "I loved the world with the ball at my feet," read one sign.

At the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro, a giant poster with Pele's image bears the word "eternal."

And at the inauguration on Sunday of Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the ceremony began with a minute's silence in Pele's memory.

Source(s): AFP

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