LOUISVILLE -- Three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali will be laid to rest Friday, after a Muslim prayer service was held on Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky.An interfaith memorial service is planned for Friday, which will include representatives of several religions, including Jews, Christians and Buddhists as well as Muslims.
CBSN coverage of the Friday service will begin at 1 p.m. ET. You can watch it live here.
"CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley" will be live from Louisville Friday evening, with extensive coverage of the funeral.
Thousands attended the traditional Muslim prayer service, or Jenazah prayer, on Thursday. Ali, who died Friday at 74, joined the black separatist Nation of Islam as a young athlete, then embraced mainstream Islam years later.
The schedule for Friday's events are as follows:
9 a.m. ET -- Procession through the streets of Louisville
3 p.m. ET -- Public memorial service at the KFC Yum! Center (originally scheduled for 2 p.m. but running behind schedule)
Tickets for the memorial were distributed for free and quickly ran out Wednesday.
Former President Bill Clinton, a longtime Ali friend, will eulogize the champ, along with other notables, including actor Billy Crystal. Other speakers will include representatives of multiple faiths, including Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and Mormonism.
Ali and his innermost circle started a document years ago that grew so thick they began calling it "The Book." In the pages, the boxing great planned in exacting detail how he wished to say goodbye to the world.
"The message that we'll be sending out is not our message -- this was really designed by The Champ himself," said Timothy Gianotti, an Islamic studies scholar who for years helped to plan the services.
"The love and the reverence and the inclusivity that we're going to experience over the coming days is really a reflection of his message to the people of planet Earth."
Ali wanted the memorial service in an arena. He wanted multiple religions to have a voice while honoring the traditions of his Muslim faith. And he wanted ordinary fans to attend, not just VIPs.
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