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02/12/2005
Body of George Best arrives back in NI
The body of George Best has arrived in Northern Ireland today ahead of his funeral on Saturday.
His body arrived at RAF Aldergrove at about 12pm and was accompanied by members of the Best family and his agent Phil Hughes.
A police escort then accompanied the hearse on the football legend's last trip to the family home in east Belfast.
Saturday's Stormont funeral is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets of Belfast ahead of a special service at Parliament Buildings.
The cortege will leave the Best family home in Burren Way, Cregagh, at around 10am and will makes its way via Cregagh Road, the Knock dual carriageway, and the Upper Newtownards Road.
The hearse will enter the Stormont grounds at the main gates and will then proceed along the Prince of Wales Avenue to the Parliament Building where a service will be held in the Great Hall.
The service will be relayed via big screen and loudspeakers to an expected crowd of up to 35,000 people in the grounds of the Stormont estate.
Around 300 guests have been invited to attend the service including Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, former Best team mates Bobby Charlton and Denis Law and ex-Northern Ireland international colleagues Pat Jennings and Gerry Armstrong.
Following the service, the cortege will proceed back down the Prince of Wales Avenue to the cemetery via the Upper Newtownards Road, the Knock dual carriageway and the Ballygowan Road to Roselawn cemetery where Best will be buried alongside his mother, Ann, in the family plot.
The Best family have appealed for privacy at the family home and at the graveside.
The BBC will be covering the funeral live on Saturday morning from 9.30am on BBC One (NI), BBC Radio Ulster from 9:55am, and via live streaming on BBC News Interactive.
George Best 1946 - 2005
(MB/SP)
His body arrived at RAF Aldergrove at about 12pm and was accompanied by members of the Best family and his agent Phil Hughes.
A police escort then accompanied the hearse on the football legend's last trip to the family home in east Belfast.
Saturday's Stormont funeral is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets of Belfast ahead of a special service at Parliament Buildings.
The cortege will leave the Best family home in Burren Way, Cregagh, at around 10am and will makes its way via Cregagh Road, the Knock dual carriageway, and the Upper Newtownards Road.
The hearse will enter the Stormont grounds at the main gates and will then proceed along the Prince of Wales Avenue to the Parliament Building where a service will be held in the Great Hall.
The service will be relayed via big screen and loudspeakers to an expected crowd of up to 35,000 people in the grounds of the Stormont estate.
Around 300 guests have been invited to attend the service including Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, former Best team mates Bobby Charlton and Denis Law and ex-Northern Ireland international colleagues Pat Jennings and Gerry Armstrong.
Following the service, the cortege will proceed back down the Prince of Wales Avenue to the cemetery via the Upper Newtownards Road, the Knock dual carriageway and the Ballygowan Road to Roselawn cemetery where Best will be buried alongside his mother, Ann, in the family plot.
The Best family have appealed for privacy at the family home and at the graveside.
The BBC will be covering the funeral live on Saturday morning from 9.30am on BBC One (NI), BBC Radio Ulster from 9:55am, and via live streaming on BBC News Interactive.
George Best 1946 - 2005
(MB/SP)
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