TEHRAN, Iran: Khamenei’s funeral turnout could reach 20 million mourners during the six-day ceremonies across Iran and Iraq, Iranian authorities said.
Authorities expect up to 20 million mourners to attend different stages of the six-day event. If reached, that figure would place the ceremonies among the largest recorded funeral gatherings.
The current official Guinness World Record for the largest funeral attendance belongs to C.N. Annadurai, the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, India. An estimated 15 million people gathered in Chennai, then Madras, for his funeral in 1969.
The funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first supreme leader, drew an estimated 10.2 million people in 1989.
That turnout represented about one-sixth of Iran’s population at the time and caused major crowd-control and security challenges.
The projected turnout for Khamenei’s funeral would also place the event in comparison with some of the world’s largest religious gatherings.
India’s Maha Kumbh Mela has drawn hundreds of millions of pilgrims over several weeks, while Iraq’s Arba’een pilgrimage annually attracts about 15 million to 25 million Shia Muslims to Karbala.
Officials have scheduled the Khamenei funeral programme across several religious and political centres.
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They plan public farewell and viewing ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran from July 3 to July 5. Officials have scheduled mass funeral processions in Tehran on July 6, followed by mourning processions in Qom on July 7.
Organisers then expect to take the late leader’s body to Iraq on July 8 for ceremonies at major Shia holy sites in Najaf and Karbala. Officials have scheduled the final rites and burial for July 9 at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad.
Iranian authorities have maintained tight security measures because of the large expected crowds and the fragile regional ceasefire. Authorities expect to keep multi-layered cordons, special transport corridors and crowd-control arrangements in place throughout the ceremonies.
