Tens of thousands of people are gathering in Louisville, Kentucky, from around the world on Friday to pay their final respects to boxing legend and cultural icon Muhammad Ali. The full-day commemoration begins at 9 a.m., with a motorcade carrying Ali's body past his childhood home, then other landmarks associated with Ali, ending at Cave Hill Cemetery, where Ali will be interred in a private ceremony. The public interfaith memorial service will begin at 2 p.m. at KFC Yum! Center, with eulogies from former President Bill Clinton and Billy Crystal, and expected words from Ali's family, Malcolm X's daughter, and sports journalist Bryant Gumbel. Ali's pallbearers include boxers George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and Lennox Lewis, plus Will Smith, who played Ali in a 2001 movie.
On Thursday, Ali was celebrated at a private Islamic prayer service, or a Jenazah, attended by about 14,000 people, including boxing promoter Don King, Yusaf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens), Lewis, and Jesse Jackson. Friday's memorial service will be broadcast on ESPN, TV One, and Bounce TV, and livestreamed at ESPN and TV One. You can watch scenes from the Islamic service, curated by The Associated Press, below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for October 18Cartoons Saturday's editorial cartoons include conversion therapy, Russ Vought, and more
-
President Trump: ‘waging war’ on ChicagoTalking Point Federal agents are carrying out ‘increasingly aggressive’ immigration raids – but have sanctuary cities like Chicago brought it on themselves?
-
Sudoku medium: October 18, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
