WORLD LEADERS, FANS BID ALI FAREWELL

WORLD LEADERS, FANS BID ALI FAREWELL

Tens of thousands of people on Friday  gathered in the hometown of Muhammad Ali for the boxing legend’s funeral and daylong memorial,  attended by world leaders including former United States  President Bill Clinton and King Abdullah II of Jordan, Al Jazeera reports.

   Ali’s remains were buried during a private ceremony at Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery on Friday, following a motorcade passing through several city landmarks, as well as his childhood home.

   People lining the streets threw flowers, and shouted, “Ali! Ali!”, as the hearse carrying his body pulled out of the funeral home. Others carried banners and photos of Ali.

 Ali died  at the age of 74 on June 3 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

   Barrack Obama was not present at the funeral of the man he calls a “personal hero” since it coincides with his daughter Malia’s graduation from high school.

   But the US president published a video message on  Thursday in which he displayed two mementos given to him by “The Champ” –  a book of photographs and a set of gloves – which he has kept near to him through his time in the White House.

  “This week we lost an icon,” Obama said in the message. “A person who for African Americans, I think, liberated their minds in recognizing that they could be proud of who they were.”

   “I grew up watching him. I grew up having my identity shaped by what he accomplished,” he said. “The incredible gestures of love and support that he showed me was one of the great blessings of my life.”

   Chants of “Ali! Ali!” were heard along the 19-mile route as the hearse travelled across the fighter’s home town.

  A police-escorted hearse carries the body of Ali past his childhood home for the final time

  The casket, covered in a cloth bearing Arabic writing, was placed into the hearse by pallbearers, who included Hollywood star Will Smith and former boxers Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, before it left the funeral home.

  The procession then travelled along Muhammad Ali Boulevard, passing the Muhammad Ali Centre and his childhood home as fans threw flowers towards the vehicle carrying Ali’s body.

   As huge crowds waited in sweltering heat for the procession to pass, some of Ali’s family and friends in the cars following the hearse waved to people watching from the roadside.