A four-day celebration and mourning for Aretha Franklin will culminate in Detroit with a royal funeral that will be watched around the world. This invite-only event includes family and celebrity guests and performers including Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Clive Davis, Jennifer Hudson, Chaka Khan, Ariana Grande, Faith Hill, and more.
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How to Watch
The funeral will start at 10 a.m. Friday, August 31. It will be livestreamed on multiple platforms and broadcast on local stations WDIV-TV (Channel 4), WJBK-TV (Channel 2) and WXYZ-TV (Channel 7). It’s expected to run up to six hours.
If the video above isn’t working, the funeral can be streamed here.
Campus Martius will also show the funeral on its screen starting at 10 a.m.
Street closures, Bus rerouting
The funeral and procession will close streets and reroute buses along Seven Mile and near Woodlawn Cemetery on Woodward. The city announced today:
Beginning at 6 a.m. on Aug. 31, Seven Mile Road between Berg and Shiawassee will be closed. Seven Mile Road from Berg to Lahser and Seven Mile Road from Shiawassee to Telegraph will closed with check points. Residents will be allowed access to their streets and businesses.
The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) will reroute the Eight Mile bus (#17) as follows:
- Westbound: The bus will take Lahser, make a right turn on Grand River, then a right turn on Seven Mile Road to rejoin the route.
- Eastbound: The bus will make a right turn on Telegraph, a left turn on Grand River and then a left turn on Lahser to rejoin the route.
Funeral Procession
Motorists should expect periodic street closures along the funeral procession route. The route is east on Seven Mile Road, north on Livernois, east on Eight Mile Road, and south on Woodward Avenue to Woodlawn Cemetery.
Those in the area will also see a procession of pink Cadillacs in her honor.