Pele’s wife and son lead mourners at open casket 24-hour wake for football legend
An emotional Brazil began paying its respects to football legend Pele today, as his coffin arrived at the stadium where he first took the world’s breath away.
Hundreds of fans began filing into the Vila Belmiro, home to Pele’s longtime club Santos, where the open casket bearing the body of ‘The King’ was displayed at the centre circle this morning. The casket, which was placed under an awning and surrounded by bouquets of white flowers, will remain there for 24 hours.
The casket arrived before the doors were opened to the public, with Pele’s son Edinho acting as one of the pallbearers. Funeral workers draped a veil over him and Edinho was pictured resting his hand on his father’s forehead and saying a prayer in the moments before the wake began.
