The death of Pelé: what the crack wake will be like, in Vila Belmiro and in the streets of Santos

The Santos club has prepared in recent months a kind of "Operation London Bridge" for Pelé's farewell. As in the case of the death of Elizabeth II, Queen of England until last September, dozens of protocols were developed, behind the scenes, to be activated as soon as the news of the death of Edson Arantes do Nascimento was confirmed, which occurred this Thursday .

Pelé had been hospitalized since November 29, at the Albert Einstein Hospital, for a reassessment of chemotherapy for a colon tumor and treatment for a respiratory infection. On Wednesday of last week his condition worsened and, according to the medical bulletin released by the hospital, he presented a progression of the oncological disease and required "more care related to kidney and heart dysfunction."

According to O Globo, Pelé's situation deteriorated rapidly, which implied that, from the following day (Thursday the 22nd), family contacts, Santos and the municipality of Santos (a city located about 55 kilometers from the center of São Paulo) began] With the information in hand, Santos and the city council put all the professionals on alert and began the operating protocols for the farewell to the King.

On Friday, after the protocol was triggered, Vila Belmiro (the stadium of the only Brazilian club in which Pelé performed) became the scene of an intense movement and began to receive various teams for the farewell. The place chosen for the last farewell to the King of Soccer could not be more iconic. Pelé's body will be veiled, initially for a day and a half, on the stadium grass, precisely in the middle of the field where he made his debut in November 1956 and scored 288 goals, the same place where, in 1974, he knelt . and he said goodbye to the club.

The ceremony in Vila Belmiro will be open to the public. The protocol indicates that the people who are going to say goodbye to Pelé will have the opportunity to make a path entering through doors 1 and 2 of Vila Belmiro, at the corner of Dom Pedro and Tiradentes, and they will continue, in a single file, until they get to the closest point possible to where the remains of the greatest footballer of all time will be resting. As at the Funeral of Elizabeth II, people will not be able to stop walking at any time and will leave the stadium through gate 7. The entire structure is already assembled, but the start time of the public wake has not yet been announced.

A photo taken from the top of Vila Belmiro shows two tents set up. In the smallest, right in the center of the field, where the Sportsman of the Century knelt and said goodbye to Santos, the body will be watched over by family and friends, while in the largest, the expectation is that journalists and authorities.

Pelé's Funeral will have characteristics very similar to the one held at Westminster Abbey. As in England, fans will not be able to get close to the coffin to touch it. In addition, it is expected that there will be dozens of authorities. According to people linked to the ceremony heard by O Globo, the presence of the current president, Jair Bolsonaro, and the elected, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, are expected, as well as great names in the history of world football and athletes still active. President Jair Bolsonaro, however, had a trip to Florida scheduled for this Thursday.

The Funeral will be divided into four types of access. Only family members, the president of the republic and the eternal idols of Santos will have access to the structure installed in the middle of the field, where Pelé's body will rest. Governors, senators and deputies, as well as the president of Santos, Andrés Rueda, may enter the Memorial das Logros, inside Vila Belmiro. In the Marble Hall there will be members of the club's board of directors, councilors and some guests. Finally, the fans who will have access from the street.

In addition to being at the ceremony in Vila Belmiro, Pelé's body will continue in procession through various streets of Santos. An operation coordinated by the Military Police (PM), the Municipal Guard (GM) and the Traffic Engineering Company (CET) will be in charge of taking the rest of the King of Soccer to the last tour of the city that welcomed him. Immediately after leaving the stadium, the procession will follow Channel 2 to Avenida da Praia, where it will continue to the door of the house of Celeste Arantes, Pelé's mother.

After all the farewells, Pelé's body will be taken to the Ecumenical Necropolis Memorial, considered by the Guinness Book of Records to be the largest vertical cemetery in the world, where it will be buried in a ceremony extremely reserved for relatives and relatives. The remains of Pelé's family and friends are buried in the same cemetery, as well as sports and music personalities, such as Chorão, singer of the band Charlie Brown Jr.

The entire environment of Vila Belmiro will be completely blocked to vehicle access. For the operation in Vila, in addition to the PM, the GCM and the CET, the club's security was activated, which will act with more rigidity than on classic days.

The protocol indicates that the people who are going to say goodbye to Pelé will have the opportunity to make a path entering through doors 1 and 2 of Vila Belmiro, at the corner of Dom Pedro and Tiradentes, and they will continue, in a single file, until they get to the closest point possible to where the remains of the greatest footballer of all time will be resting.