Tens of thousands of fans joined sporting legends, celebrities and family members at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday night to bid farewell to cricketing great Shane Warne. The state memorial service culminated with the renaming of the MCG's largest stand in his honour, prompting the crowd to erupt into cheers of 'Warnie'.
Warne's father, Keith, commemorated his son as a doting father, loving son and caring brother, telling the crowd he was grateful the world loved Warne as much as he and his wife did. He recounted Warne's visit to children in Kinglake after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, saying, 'He was a person who made everybody feel very special.'
The spin king's youngest child, Summer, recalled the last time she saw her father, dancing with him to Bryan Adams' Summer of '69 days before he left for Thailand. Her brother, Jackson, said he felt 'robbed' but treasured simple times with his father, who never pressured him to play cricket and 'just wanted him to be happy'.
The event featured video tributes from Sir Elton John, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Robbie Williams and Ed Sheeran, as well as live performances by Jon Stevens and Anthony Callea. A panel discussion included former teammates and opponents: Allan Border said Warne helped 'revitalise' his captaincy, while Nasser Hussain noted Warne was 'the great bowler – but also the great sledger'.
Hugh Jackman remembered Warne as someone who 'sucked the marrow out of life', and Danni Minogue called him 'Mr Sunshine'. The memorial was attended by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, and broadcast live across Australia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the UK. Warne died of a heart attack in Thailand on 4 March aged 52.
