A 24-hour wake for the late, great Pele began at the Vila Belmiro on Monday.
Pele’s wake, which will last 24 hours, began on Monday
Neymar, Romario and Real Madrid sent flowers
Ze Roberto was among those carrying Pele’s coffin
The Estadio Urbano Caldeira, commonly known as the Vila Belmiro, opened its doors in Santos this Monday to pay an emotional farewell to ‘The King’ one last time. The wake in homage to Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele, began at 10am local time and will last 24 hours. Among family members, former Santos team-mates, old rivals, fans of rival teams and dignitaries, thousands of people of different nationalities attended the ceremony. The queue to enter began to form at dawn and soon extended for more than five blocks outside the stadium that was Pele’s home from 1956 to ‘74.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was present, accompanied by Alejandro Dominguez, President of CONMEBOL, and Ednaldo Rodrigues, President of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). In accordance with the wish of ‘The King of Football’, Santos erected a structure on the Vila Belmiro pitch. The zone was adorned with bouquets of flowers sent by clubs from all over the world, such as arch-rivals Palmeiras and Spanish superpower Real Madrid. Romario and Neymar also sent flowers.
Pele scored 288 goals in 210 matches in his home stadium according to the club records. It was here that he marvelled the Santos faithful, providing them with moments of ecstasy with his incredible skill, intelligence, strength and athleticism. Today, the atmosphere was one of more contained emotion, admiration and respect for the family of this football legend. The silence was broken by two songs that made up the background music: the official Santos anthem and the Meu Legado (My Legacy) song, written by Pele himself. The body of Pele will lie in wake for 24 hours. Later, the coffin will be taken on a procession through the streets of Santos, passing by the home of his mother, Celeste Arantes, who is 100 years old. The burial will take place at the Memorial Cemetery in a private ceremony attended by his family and close friends.
