Thousands converging on Louisville for Muhammad Ali funeral

Muhammad Ali is being remembered in Louisville

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

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

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.