FILE PHOTO: Legendary Brazilian soccer player Pele speaks to journalists during an exhibition on the country’s past World Cup participations entitled “Brazil, a country, a world” at the Ulysses Guimaraes Convention Center in Brasilia on December 17, 2013. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo
The memorial dedicated to Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele, is a luxurious mausoleum where the remains of the Brazilian idol rest in a solid gold coffin on the outskirts of Sao Paulo.
The tomb where “O Rei” was buried after his death from advanced colon cancer is on the first floor of the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica vertical cemetery, considered the highest in the world, located less than a kilometer from the Vila Belmiro stadium of his beloved club Santos.
READ: Pele succumbs after a long battle with cancer and leaves the world in mourning
With a stadium-like setting, images of fans in the stands, synthetic turf on the floor, and a small painted sky on the ceiling, the room where the three-time world champion is laid to rest features two life-size golden statues in addition to the gleaming coffin.
READ: Death of Pele, ‘the person who stopped the world’: Who is saying what
FILE PHOTO: General view of the mausoleum of Brazilian football legend Pele at the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica cemetery REUTERS/Carla Carniel
The golden tomb is adorned with a cross at the top and two panels on the sides, recreating the 1000th goal and the famous fist-in-the-air celebration he made when scoring at the Maracana stadium in 1969.
In the corners of the memorial hall are the only three jerseys worn by the Brazilian idol, the one from Santos, the Brazilian national team, and the New York Cosmos, where he retired in 1977.
READ: Brazil bids farewell to beloved soccer star Pele
The venue is expected to attract visitors from all over the world, turning the city of Santos into a tourist attraction, but at the moment only 60 people a day are allowed in, subject to registration.
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