Louisville (AFP) - All of the roughly 15,000 tickets for Friday's public memorial service in Louisville honoring boxing legend Muhammad Ali, the city's most famous son, have been distributed, organizers said. Hundreds of people formed long lines early in the day for a chance at a seat in the KFC Yum! Center, a large sports arena, for Friday's interfaith ceremony, at which former president Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal will eulogize Ali.
Ali, whose remarkable boxing career and civil rights activism made him one of the indelible figures of the 20th century, died last week at age 74 after a decades-long battle with Parkinson's disease. Louisville, the largest city in the southern state of Kentucky and home to 600,000 people, will play host Thursday and Friday to a mass public celebration of Ali's life.
Ten ticket booths were set up to distribute four free tickets per person. In just one hour, all of them had been handed out. Some people spent the night in line on camping chairs and wrapped in blankets to make sure they got tickets.
The Louisville ceremonies will have three key moments: an Islamic prayer service open to all on Thursday, a long public funeral procession through the city on Friday and the public memorial service. Organizers have said several heads of state will attend. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed he will be there but President Barack Obama will not attend, remaining in Washington for the high school graduation ceremony of his eldest daughter, Malia.
