Brazil is preparing to live special and moving hours with the funeral of Edson Arantes do Nascimento for the civil status, King Pelé for the whole world.
Excessive funeral of the Auriverde legend, who died on Thursday December 29 at the age of 82.
The farewell to the icon will be done in two stages.
This Monday, at dawn, the funeral procession will leave the Albert-Einstein hospital, from where it flew to the paradise of footballers, and will join the Urbano-Caldeira stadium (better known as Vila Belmiro) Santos FC, the club of his life.
It was here, between 1956 and 1974, that Pelé capsized hearts and quite a few adversaries.
In black and white, like the club's legendary stripes, or in colour.
Obrigado, Rei Pelé.
pic.twitter.com/2Xb7XElR41
— Santos FC (@SantosFC) December 29, 2022
A parade of just over 80 km, supervised by the military police, where thousands of people should gather at the edge of the road to greet and mourn the one who made them dream so much.
In this tribute in Mondovision, the convoy will stop in front of the enclosure of Santos FC and the coffin of the only triple world champion in history will be installed in the center of the lawn.
There, for twenty-four hours flat, all the fans of this port city of 435,000 inhabitants, of Brazil or everywhere else will be able to gather.
Two long white tents and dozens of barriers have been placed on the ground to frame the crowds and make the path of pedestrians more fluid.
In one of the bends were deployed three large banners.
Two where it is written in Portuguese "Long live the King" and "Pelé 82 years old" in black letters on a white background and one in the center with a black and white image of the most famous number 10 of all time.
Several personalities are expected to mingle with the crowd of anonymous people, such as Lula, officially invested as President of Brazil on Sunday evening, Gianni Infantino, the boss of Fifa, or even the president of Conmebol.
Note that PSG players Marquinhos or Neymar (one of Pelé's heirs to Santos) did not ask the club to go back and forth in the state of Sao Paulo.
🪦⚫ Pelé will be sepultado no Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica, em Santos, o maior cemitério vertical do mundo, reconhecido pelo Guinness Book, o Livro dos Recordes https://t.co/HbL3d9rIJZ
— Diário do Nordeste (@diarioonline) December 29, 2022
On Tuesday, Pelé will pass in procession one last time past the home of his 100-year-old mother Dona Celeste, still alive.
The old woman does not know that her prodigy son has left the earth.
"She doesn't know, we talked, but she doesn't know," Pelé's sister Maria Lucia do Nascimento told ESPN.
She's fine, but she's in her own world.
Sometimes I say:
Dico (Editor's note: Pelé's nickname) is like that, but let's pray for him, don't we, mum?
Sometimes she opens her eyes… But she's not conscious.
»
In the afternoon, the celebrations will take place at the Memorial Necropolis Eucumênica, a huge white vertical cemetery where Pelé will rest on the 9th floor, within ballooning distance of Vila Belmiro.
A location he himself had chosen several years ago to have an eternal view of the stadium.
But there, the ceremony will be private and reserved for the family and loved ones of the deceased.
Pelé The city of Santos and the entire state of Sao Paulo have decreed an official seven-day mourning to honor the memory of their idol.