David Bowie’s Funeral Set In NYC By Wife Iman Abdulmajid? England Upset, Westboro Baptist Church Thrilled
David Bowie’s funeral may be set in America based upon the latest reports. The news indicates that Bowie’s wife, Iman Abdulmajid, may be planning to hold the funeral procession somewhere in New York City. The Bowie family has maintained a Manhattan apartment for years, so the reported funeral plans make practical sense, but some fans in England are hoping the funeral would be held within the United Kingdom. In addition, having the Bowie funeral location in NYC also creates another problem: The Westboro Baptist Church is quite thrilled that they could be given the chance to protest and picket the controversial rocker’s funeral.
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David Bowie’s death was announced on all of his social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer,” the statement from the family read. “While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”
As might be expected, the Westboro Baptist Church will not honor that request at all. Within hours of the announcement, they were asking for the details of Bowie’s funeral, and now that reports are claiming it may be held in NYC, the WBC is already practicing their lines.
We’re practicing #DavidBowie‘s parody, hoping his family will opt for a funeral here (or better yet: NO funeral!) https://t.co/vhia1uqGQk
— Westboro Baptist (@WBCSaysRepent) January 12, 2016
God’s Word for it: no RIP for #DavidBowie https://t.co/Vv15CmBZYS
— Westboro Baptist (@WBCSaysRepent) January 12, 2016
The reason that they are hoping to keep the funeral within America is because they would have a hard time attending otherwise.
“Back in 2009, the Westboro Baptist Church announced plans to picket in the United Kingdom. This would have been their first protest in the U.K., but… the British Home Office responded by officially excluding Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper from entering the country since they had ‘engaged in unacceptable behavior by inciting hatred against a number of communities.'”
The British also claimed that “other church members could also be flagged and stopped if they tried to enter Britain,” so it’s probably safe to assume this threat still stands if they tried to fly over for Bowie’s funeral. Regardless, some British fans of Bowie were hoping the funeral will be held in England.
I hope #DavidBowie will receive national funeral in the UK, or that the Queen will say something, at least… Dear David…
— Aurélie Ferté-Fogel (@AurFerteFogel) January 11, 2016
.@Queen_UK Any chance of arranging a state funeral? #DavidBowie
— Charlie (@charlie_delaney) January 11, 2016
At the same time, British fans should not be overly upset since the rumors surrounding the funeral plans were started by the Sun. They simply stated it is “believed Bowie’s funeral will take place in America,” and other news reports took that statement and ran with it. Based upon actual statements from Iman Abdulmajid and other Bowie representatives, no official plans have been confirmed by the family at this time.
David Bowie Remembrance Concert
Still, it can be confirmed for certain that New York City will host a major remembrance concert to the rocker. The memorial concert is planned for March 31, 2016, at Carnegie Hall. It was originally scheduled to be a tribute concert but will now honor the memory of the famous musician. Tickets have already sold out.
“The unexpected death of David Bowie has turned this tribute, which we have worked on for the past seven months, into a memorial concert,” the organizers wrote on the concert’s website. “This year’s concert will certainly be remembered as a poignant celebration of his music by his friends, peers, and fans. We are all deeply saddened by this news. The timing of our public on-sale date is bizarre in its timing… may God’s love be with you.”
