The memorial service for legendary Brazilian footballer Pelé began Monday with the opening of the gates of the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos for a final tribute from fans in front of the coffin resting in the center of the pitch of his first exploit. Access to the Santos FC stadium is allowed “without interruption” until Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time (2 p.m. in France).
Three giant banners were placed in the grandstands of the 16,000-seat facility: one shows Pele from behind wearing the flocked number 10 jersey immortalized by the ex-forward, while the other two read: “Long live the king”. and “Pelé 82 years old”. “I am sure that many people will come to the wake, not only old people who have seen him play, but also young people,” said Silvio Neves Souza, a 54-year-old electrician, on vacation in Santos told AFP.
After the funeral service, a procession winds through the streets of this port city, 75 km from Sao Paulo, ahead of the funeral reserved for the family. In particular, the procession will pass by the home of Pelé’s centenarian mother, Dona Celeste, who, according to Maria Lucia do Nascimento, one of the sisters of the deceased, “does not know” that her son is dead. “She’s in her world,” she assured ESPN on Friday.