If a funeral is the last party you’ll ever have, how do you want to celebrate? One of the benefits of pre-planning your funeral now is that you get to choose the details of your burial and wake. While most people take that to mean deciding on a particular tombstone or cemetery, others take it as an opportunity to plan some of the most extravagant, unusual, or just plain weird funerals the world has ever seen! MemorialPlanning.com has collected some of the most unusual wakes and funerals throughout history and created this infographic. Read on to learn about the World’s Most Extravagant Funerals!
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A funeral ceremony offers mourners a special opportunity to express their grief, and their love and admiration for those they have lost. Here are some of the most unique ways that the dearly departed have been honored.
The Most Expensive Funerals….
$600 Million
Alexander the Great
After passing away in 323 BC, Alexander the Great was placed in a solid gold casket and then transported in a gold carriage pulled by 60 horses from Babylon to Macedonia.
$40 Million
Kim Jong-Il
One of the most expensive modern funerals. North Korea also spent $10 million alone on a 75-foot statue of their former leader. Maintenance is estimated to cost $2.5 million every year.
$11.8 Million
Prince Diana
When Princess Diana tragically passed away in 1997, 2.5 billion people watched it around the world. The funeral itself cost nearly $12 million.
Did you know…
Michael Jackson’s coffin, “The Promethean,” was solid bronze and cost $25,000.
Did you know…
Alexander the Great’s Funeral took 2 years to prepare. His body was preserved in honey before being buried in a solid gold coffin.
The Most Attended Funerals….
15 Million
Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
In 1969, 15 million people attended the funeral of the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu in India.
10 Million
Ayatollah Khomeini
The largest percentage of a population to attend a funeral was in Iran in 1989. 10,200,000 people attended the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, or 1/6 of Iran’s total population.
1.6 Million
Michael Jackson
Over a million fans entered a lottery to win tickets to Michael Jackson’s memorial. Only 17,500 tickets were released, and tickets were later sold on Ebay for nearly $10,000.
Did you know…
President John F. Kennedy’s funeral was broadcast without commercial interruption, costing television networks roughly $40 million.
Did you know…
The man who organized actor Rudolph Valentino’s funeral paid attendees to exaggerate their grief in order to draw publicity for his “funeral parlor to the stars.”
The Most Unique Funerals…..
Would you want to attend your own funeral?
A woman in China wanted an opportunity to enjoy her own funeral. So she spent her life savings on an elaborate funeral and celebrated with her friends and family.
Would you livestream your funeral?
Technology has made virtually every aspect of our lives easier – Including funerals. As many people have loved ones scattered around the globe, some are resorting to livestreaming funerals. This allows people to pay their respects even if they can’t physical be there.
Ever wish you could go to space?
While you may never leave Earth’s orbit in this lifetime, you can have your cremated remains sent into space. You can even choose the moon as your final resting place!
Sources:
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-percentage-of-population-to-attend-a-funeral/ http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1908895_1906463,00.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11354116/The-ten-largest-gatherings-in-human-history.html http://www.therichest.com/luxury/most-expensive/the-top-10-most-expensive-funerals-in-the-world/?view=all http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/6/newsid_2502000/2502307.stm http://www.oddee.com/item_98870.aspx http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/12/death-on-the-internet-the-rise-of-livestreaming-funerals/383646/
