"O Rei" is heading to his final resting place.
The funeral wake in memory of Pelé ended this Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Brazil (2 p.m. French time).
According to AFP, citing the Santos club, 230,000 people came to the center of the lawn of the Santos stadium to pay their last respects to the Brazilian icon, who died on December 29.
The vigil is over.
More than 150,000 people have come to pay tribute to #Pelé in the past 24 hours.
The King's coffin was mounted on a fire truck (like Ayrton Sena in 1994) for a procession in #Santos before the burial in the privacy of the family #farewell pic.twitter.com/iW2G7uVA8i
— Winny Claret (@WinnyClaret) January 3, 2023
Guards first transported the coffin from the Vila Belmiro compound to the fire truck that will drive Pelé's body through the streets of Santos.
In 1994, the body of Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, a legend in Brazil, was also mounted on a fire engine before the procession.
The remains of the "King" will cross Santos.
The funeral procession will pass in front of the house of the mother of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Celeste Arantes, 100, who is unaware of the death of her son because of cognitive impairment.
The coffin will then be taken to the vertical cemetery of the Memorial Necropolis Eucumênica, where a mausoleum has been erected.
Pelé had chosen this location several years ago because he will have an eternal view of the Santos stadium there.
A Catholic rite ceremony will be held in the cemetery in the intimacy of the family.
Tranquility after the walkabout.
The flags are out and the Brazilian people massed in the streets of Santos, a port city located southeast of Sao Paulo to accompany the former footballer.
Earlier in the day, President Lula had come to bid farewell to the "King" and offered his condolences to Marca Aoki, widow of Pelé.