The body of Brazilian soccer legend Pele has arrived at Santos FC stadium for the wake. The motorcade with the coffin of the world-famous footballer arrived this morning (local time) at the Estadio Urbano Caldeira in the Vila Belmiro district, local media reported.
Numerous fans were already waiting in front of the entrance to the arena with waving flags, as could be seen on videos on social networks. The caravan, escorted by the police and fire brigade, had started about two hours earlier from the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, about 80 kilometers away, where Pele died on Thursday at the age of 82 after a long illness.
The body of the three-time world champion is to be laid out in the center of the stadium from 10 a.m. (local time), according to Pele’s long-time club FC Santos. Chairs have been set up for family and friends. Fans can walk past at a distance of around five meters.
Brazil’s new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is also expected at the wake. This should last 24 hours. Tomorrow a funeral procession will take the body through the neighborhood where Pele’s 100-year-old mother still lives to the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica high-rise cemetery. Pele is to be buried there with the family.
