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Thousands of Kobe and Gianna Bryant mourners are just hours away from packing Staples Center for a ceremony celebrating the Mamba and Mambacita’s lives … and TMZ Sports will livestream all of it.
The event is expected to be incredibly moving and emotional. As we reported, the demand to attend the memorial was unprecedented.
THOUSANDS of people applied for tickets — more than 88,000 just in the first 5 hours.
The Staples Center only holds 20,000 … and many of those tickets had already been accounted for with Kobe’s family, friends and the NBA community.
We’re told officials wrestled with the idea of moving the event to the L.A. Coliseum — which seats closer to 80,000 people — before ultimately settling on Staples. After all, it’s where Kobe played for 20 years and became a beloved figure in Los Angeles and around the world.
We’re told just like Michael Jackson and Nipsey Hussle‘s memorials — which were also held at Staples — streets around the building will be closed off for security and traffic control.
Law enforcement is urging fans without tickets to stay home and watch the broadcast on TV or online. The ceremony will NOT be broadcast on the screens outside Staples.
It’s unclear who will speak at the memorial … with dozens of people close to Kobe and Gigi wanting to take the mic to say kind words about the Lakers legend and his daughter.
We broke the story, Bryant and his daughter were 2 of 9 people who tragically lost their lives in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.
Vanessa Bryant, who is expected to attend the event, said of the losses just days after the tragedy, “We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.”
The memorial stream will begin at 9:30 AM PT.