Its contents will soon be revealed.
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Ali’s family ultimately removed him from life support on Friday, Gunnell said.
He said Ali wanted multiple religions to be represented at the public service, which he said will include ministers from many faiths. I wonder, in the human imagination, if there is any way to envision the magnitude of Muhammad Ali’s life, literally the greatest and best-known person on planet Earth. But the 59-year-old chose instead to attend the memorial service to Ali.
He died on Friday at the age of 74 from septic shock due to unspecified natural causes. They’re adding to Ali’s procession, making sure he passes by his childhood home.
The funeral is to be held in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky at 2pm local time (7pm BST) on Friday (Saturday NZT).
Other famous former fighters are expected to attend, along with former U.S. presidents and heads of state from other countries.
“We’ve also been planning – as The Champ has been sick – for quite some time, and we handle big crowds in this city”, said the Democratic mayor of Louisville, which hosts the Kentucky Derby every year.
“Ali has always been an enormous inspiration to me, not only in my boxing career, but also in life”.
The service will be preceded by an Islamic prayer service and family funeral on Thursday, organizers said.
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor-in chief of the progressive Jewish magazine Tikkun, met Ali when the two were vocal opponents of the war.
Lieberman was among those who diagnosed Ali in 1984, and became a good friend as well as his physician. They did not see each other again.
On Obama’s possible presence, Fischer said: “I know he is considering it”. “I am extremely honored and extremely humbled”.
Former President Bill Clinton, journalist Bryant Gumbel and comedian Billy Crystal will deliver eulogies at the funeral.
Gunnell says both their offices were “gracious and understood”. Born in January 1942 as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, a name shared with a 19th century slavery abolitionist, the boxer changed his name to Muhammad Ali after his conversion to Islam.
The chief of the YTL conglomerate recounted his meeting with the legendary boxer at the Celebrity Fight Night charity event, where he received the Muhammad Ali Award for Philantrophy. The hotel declined to say who would be staying there.
All over town, Louisville residents have been finding ways to pay tribute to their city’s favorite son.
Afterward, a private reception will be held at the Ali Center for friends and guests. A downtown bridge announced it would be lit the rest of the week in red and gold: red for Ali’s gloves and gold for his medal.
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Gunnell said Ali, who converted to the Islamic faith in the 1960s, started planning his own funeral almost a decade ago.
