The city of Los Angeles will host a public memorial for Kobe Bryant on Feb. 24 at the Staples Center, The Los Angeles Times reports.
When: The service will honor all who died in a helicopter crash in January, including:
- Kobe Bryant, 41
- Gianna Bryant, 13
- Payton Chester, 13
- Sarah Chester, 45
- Alyssa Altobelli, 14
- Keri Altobelli, 46
- John Altobelli, 56
- Christina Mauser, 38
- Ara Zobayan, 50
Further context: Fans gathered outside the Staples Center to honor Kobe Bryant in recent weeks.
- The bodies of Bryant and his fellow victims were released to families earlier this week, which was the first sign that a funeral date was coming, which I wrote about for the Deseret News.
- “The news might mean that a memorial service for Kobe, which has so far seen multiple unforeseen delays, can finally go ahead. Sources with knowledge of the situation had dampened the hopes of a memorial taking place any time soon just last week,” according to MEAWW.
- “We don’t have that date finalized, but we’ve been talking every day to the Lakers, and most importantly, to (Bryant’s widow, Vanessa) as well,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told USA Today.