About 5,000 mourners are expected to attend the funeral of the late cricketer Phillip Hughes in his Macksville hometown this Wednesday while the entire service will be broadcast live and screened for the public at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The Sydney Cricket Ground is where Hughes made his first-class debut and played his first Australian test match on home soil and thusly will be open to the public from 1pm this Wednesday for a live screening of the late cricketer’s funeral.
The Hughes family have also extended an invitation to the whole town of Macksville to attend the service at Macksville High School this Wednesday at 2pm AEDT and join them in celebrating Phillip Hughes’ life, which was tragically cut short last week.
While it is estimated that hundreds of dignitaries, past and present players and including the entire NSW and Australian Test squads will be there, reports The Guardian, 80% of the school’s recreation hall will accommodate local mourners.
“For the people who aren’t able to get into the hall, the family has made arrangements for several overflow areas at the local high school,” said Hughes’ manager James Henderson. “So everybody should come to celebrate Phillip’s life. That’s what the family wants.”
Channel Nine, Seven Ten, ABC TV and Sky News will offer live coverage of the event. Following the funeral, the hearse will travel down the main street of Macksville and local mourners have been asked to line the streets and pay their farewell.
“Also tomorrow evening, the whole town will stop to celebrate Phillip’s life,” Henderson said. “The family wants to see as many people as it possibly can.”
