Status: 01/02/2023 12:57 p.m
The coffin with the mortal remains of football legend Pelé arrived at the FC Santos stadium in a motorcade. Fans welcomed the hearse with flags waving. The Brazilian is to be buried on Tuesday.
The body of Brazilian soccer legend Pelé has arrived at FC Santos stadium for the wake. The motorcade with the coffin of the world-famous footballer arrived at around 4 a.m. (local time) at the Estádio 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, accompanied by the police and fire brigade, had started about two hours earlier from the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, about 80 kilometers away, where Pelé died last Thursday at the age of 82 after a serious illness.
Vigil on the field
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 Pelé’s long-time club FC Santos. Pelé’s coffin will be under a gazebo. 80 chairs were set up there for family members and friends. The fans will be able to say goodbye to their idol on a catwalk about five meters away from the coffin.
The picture shows the Vila Belmiro stadium before the wake of Brazilian soccer legend Pelé in the city of Santos.
Image: AFP
Brazil’s new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is also expected at the wake. This should last 24 hours. On Tuesday, a funeral procession will carry the body through the neighborhood where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother still lives to the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica high-rise cemetery. Pelé is to be buried there with his family.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, as the striker was called by his full name, shaped football like no other. He was already a legend in his lifetime. With 77 goals in 92 international matches, Pelé is still the record scorer for the Brazilian national soccer team – together with his 30-year-old compatriot Neymar, who now also has 77 goals.