The public memorial for Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna "Gigi" Bryant, is coming together beautifully. The "Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant" service is set to take place on today, Feb. 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Kobe played the majority of his 20-year professional basketball career.
The legendary NBA star is survived by his wife, Vanessa Bryant, and the three other children they shared: Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.
Prior to the public ceremony, ET confirmed that a private funeral for Kobe and Gianna was held at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona Del Mar, California, on Friday, Feb. 7. The service took place two weeks after they died in a helicopter crash alongside seven others -- Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan.
"Vanessa and the family wanted a private service to mourn their loss," a source told ET at the time. "The ceremony was extremely hard for everyone as it's still hard for them to grasp they lost two beautiful souls."
When and where is the memorial: The celebration begins at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 24. It will take place inside the Staples Center, home of the Lakers.
Staples Center President Lee Zeidman says there are 35,000 red roses surrounding the stage for the service. Those attending will receive a T-shirt that features images of Kobe and Gianna as well as a program.
Significance of the date: Ahead of the event, Vanessa took to Instagram to explain what 02/24/20 means to her and her family. No. 2 is Gianna’s jersey number, which retired by her school earlier this month during a ceremony at Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar, California. No. 24 is Kobe’s jersey from the 2006-2007 season until his retirement. And No. 20 is the number years of Kobe's career as Laker and the amount of years he and Vanessa were together.
Who is attending: In addition to Vanessa and her three other daughters with Kobe, invited guests will include family and friends of the Bryants, along with players from the Lakers and NBA officials.
Ahead of the memorial service, Dwyane Wade posted a photo of Kobe and Gianne from their time on the court.
The Celebration of Life service will also include speakers and performers. Among those speaking is Oregon Ducks player Sabrina Ionescu, who will be paying tribute to her mentor and his daughter. “Monday’s going to be a difficult day for her to speak at the memorial for Kobe and Gianna, but what a great opportunity and a great privilege and a great honor,” her coach, Kelly Graves said.
How to watch: ET's live coverage will begin at 8 a.m. PT, with Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner live from the arena. Then starting at 10 a.m. PT, ET will stream the entire memorial, uninterrupted. (More information on ET's ongoing coverage here.)
Tickets for the event: A limited number of tickets will also be available to the general public via Ticketmaster Verified Fan, with all proceeds going to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. The Lakers announced that fans may register to purchase tickets here starting on Friday and running through Monday, Feb. 17 at 10 p.m. PT. Registered fans will receive an email (or a text message) on Tuesday, Feb. 18, along with a personal access code. In the case that the demand for tickets exceeds supply, fans will be selected at random to participate in the public sale.
Tickets will then be released for public sale on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. PT. Fans with personal access codes will be given access to purchase available tickets at three different price points depending on seating location -- $224 each, 2 tickets for $224 and $24.02 each. All tickets are nontransferable.
The Lakers note that members of the public without tickets to the Celebration of Life are strongly advised by Staples Center and law enforcement not to come downtown near the venue (or the surrounding L.A. Live area), as fans without tickets will not be able to access the Staples Center, L.A. Live or adjacent streets.
Hear more on the life and legacy of Kobe in the video below.
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