Thousands bid farewell to Shane Warne at MCG in an emotional ceremony

A state memorial for the late Shane Warne was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) today, March 30. The memorial was conducted by the state government of Victoria. Around 50,000 people were present at the event as singers like Kylie Minogue, Elton John, and Ed Sheeran paid their tributes to the legend in their own way.

Notably, Sheeran wasn’t present at the event but had sent a recorded message as a tribute. Minogue sang “that light will continue to burn forever” in a tribute to the 145-Test veteran. She said that the 1999 World Cup winner had “star quality and charisma that the world got to know and love.”

On the other hand, Ed Sheeran played Warne’s favourite ‘Thinking Out Loud’ in the recorded message he sent.

In the video, the singer added that the former leg-spinner was an incredible human being, adding that people have so many wonderful stories to tell about the legend.

“Shane was an incredible human to me and every single person that he came across. I’ve just got such wonderful stories of him.
“People that he didn’t even know have wonderful stories of him – he gave so much of his time and energy and love to. He was such a great bloke,” he said.

Elton John, who played ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, said that Warne was one of the greatest sportspeople ever. Kieth Warne, father of Shane Warne said that his son always put smiles on people’s faces. “Shane was always about putting smiles on people’s faces,” he said in an emotional speech.

Meanwhile, the Great Southern Stand at the MCG was unveiled as Shane Warne stand in honour of the legendary spinner.