CNN
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Brazilians have begun to pay their last respects to the great football Pellet with a 24-hour public wake-up, beginning Monday at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium, the home ground of his former football club, Santos.
The wake was open to the public and mourners began entering the stadium on Monday morning.
On Tuesday, a funeral will then bring by Pelé coffins make their way through the streets of Santos, including passing through the street where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.
The parade will continue by Pelé final resting place, the Necrópole Ecumenica Memorial cemetery, where private funerals will be held for family members.
Fireworks greet the hearse carrying Pelé’s coffin as it leaves the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, where the three-time World Cup winner died on Thursday from multiple organ failure due to the progression of colon cancer .
The hearse was heavily escorted by police as it approached the stadium, where his coffin will be placed in the center of the field.
Fans began lining the streets in the early hours of Monday morning, many holding flags or banners with messages for ‘O Rei’ (“King”). “Pelé, you are eternal,” read one by the highway.
Inside Santos’ 16,000-seat stadium, several large banners were placed throughout the stands, with one saying “Long live the king”.
Pelé’s son, Edson Nascimento, posted a series of Instagram stories about his trip to Santos.
“Bring our king home,” one reading shows the motorway convoy. Another raised his hand over the coffin with the caption: “We’re home.”
Famous Brazilians, including players such as Romário and Neymar Jr., and club officials from Real Madrid and São Paulo FC, also attended.
According to CNN Brasil, Pelé’s widow Marcia Aoki attended the ceremony and was seen hugging Edson Nascimento.
People of all ages flocked to the stadium when the gates of the memorial opened and many wore the iconic yellow jerseys of Brazil’s soccer team and the Santos Football Club jersey. .
It was a sad occasion and many fans were deeply moved, tears rolling down their faces as they entered the pitch. The public entrance of the stadium is decorated with flower bouquets and the Santos FC flag is flown at half-mast.
The song Meu Legado (“my legacy”), sung by Pele, was played over and over inside the stadium from the moment his coffin entered, as fans sang along to the lyrics.
Among the first to arrive to pay their respects was FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“Pele is eternal,” Infantino told reporters, according to Reuters. “FIFA will certainly honor the ‘king’ as he deserves.
“We have asked all football associations around the world to observe a minute of silence before each game and will also ask them, 211 countries, to name a stadium after Pele. Future generations must know and remember who Pele is.”
For more than 60 years, the name Pelé has been synonymous with football. He has played in four World Cups and is the only player in history to have won three, but his legacy goes beyond trophies and a respectable scoring record.
Pelé famously said: “I was born to play football, just as Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint.
Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is considered by many to be one of the greatest footballers in history and Brazil held three days of national mourning after his death.
Sports stars, politicians and musicians from around the world have paid tribute to a man who has surpassed his sport and become a global icon.
