Family spokesman Bob Gunnell told reporters in Scottsdale, Arizona: “A rather large funeral procession will take Muhammad Ali through the streets of Louisville to allow anyone that is there from the world to say goodbye”.
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Gunnell said the three-time heavyweight champion was never downcast during the process.
The exhibition on Ali’s life and boxing career has been well visited since Ali’s death by people wishing to pay their respects to the American icon, with thousands signing a book of condolence.
The 30-minute prayer service will be held at Louisville’s Freedom Hall arena, the site of Ali’s last fight in his hometown, where he defeated Willi Besmanoff on November 29, 1961.
“The love and the reverence and inclusivity that we are going to experience over the coming days are really a reflection of his message”.
Will Smith, the actor who won an Oscar for his stunning portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the biopic Ali will be one of the pallbearers who will carry Muhammad Ali’s coffin at his funeral on Friday.
Fans of Ali queued for hours to secure tickets, which were distributed by the family for free.
It was decided the initial plan for Ali to be kept at the Muhammad Ali Centre in Louisville would be scrapped as his wife Lonnie was concerned it would cause the centre to be shut down. The service will be open to the public.
In a heartfelt tribute Mr Obama revealed he keeps a pair of Ali’s gloves in his private study at the White House, and said we are fortunate that “The Greatest chose to grace our time”.
Muhammad Ali is featured on his 40thSports Illustrated cover this week in an issue that is also an SI first.
Ali’s burial will be in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, the final resting place for numerous city’s most prominent citizens of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Muhammad Ali’s daughter has shared her touching final photograph of her late father. When Winfrey asked Ali about Smith’s portrayal of him, Ali replied, “He scared me”. Ali died last Friday at 74.
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Former president Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal will give eulogies at the ceremony, which will be led by an imam in line with Muslim tradition – after Ali converted to Islam in the 1960s.
