Tens of thousands of people are set to say a final farewell to boxing legend Muhammad Ali in his home city of Louisville in Kentucky.

The heavyweight champion and rights activist died last Friday aged 74.

A procession will take Ali's body past key sites in his life, ahead of an interfaith memorial service.

Actor Will Smith and ex-boxer Lennox Lewis will be among the pallbearers, while former President Bill Clinton will deliver one of the eulogies.

The motorcade procession will begin at about 09:30 local time (13:30 GMT) and take the coffin past his childhood home, the Ali Center, the Center for African American Heritage and then down Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

The procession, expected to take about 90 minutes, will end at the Cave Hill Cemetery where Ali will be laid to rest in a private ceremony.

The funeral service at the KFC Yum! Centre will begin at 14:00 local time.

Tens of thousands are expected to line the streets for the procession, while free tickets for the 18,000-strong memorial service, taking place at a major sports centre, were snapped up within half an hour.

Agencies