Thousands gather to say final goodbye to Muhammad Ali

Family, friends and fans will gather on Friday to say a final farewell to boxing legend and activist Muhammad Ali.

World leaders and celebrities will be among 18,000 people expected to attend the service in Ali's home city of Louisville, Kentucky.

The ceremony will also be broadcast to millions of viewers around the world.

Former US president Bill Clinton will a deliver a eulogy, while Ali's widow Lonnie and two of his nine children, daughters Rasheda and Maryum, will also address the congregation.

British world heavyweight boxing champion, Lennox Lewis, and Hollywood actor Will Smith, who portrayed Ali in the 2001 film about the boxer's life, will be pallbearers.

American actor Billy Crystal and Malcolm X's daughter Attallah Shabazz will speak at the funeral, while Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and King Abdullah II of Jordan are expected to be among the congregation.

Fans from around the world have flocked to Louisville for the funeral, which is being held at the KFC Yum! Centre at 2pm local time (7pm BST).

British brother's Ramaz and Riaz Hameed told ITV News they had travelled thousands of miles to see the tributes to Ali and were then given tickets to the service being held today.

The funeral will be live-streamed on the internet and is also being shown at London's O2 Arena, the site of Ali's 'I Am The Greatest' exhibition.