People News

Whitney Houston's funeral to be held this Friday

Feb 14, 2012, 6:02 GMT

Whitney Houston in 2010

Whitney Houston's funeral will be held this Friday (17.02.12) in Newark, New Jersey.

NBC New York reports that the funeral for the late superstar will be held at Newark's Prudential Centre, which has a capacity of 18,000, while a wake is said to be planned for Thursday.

According to nj.com, a law enforcement insider claims that filmmaker Tyler Perry will fly the coffin to New Jersey. Her remains are expected to arrive at around 10pm.

Newark is the town where Houston was born. She began singing with the choir, and played piano at the New Hope Baptist church, her place of worship.

Even so, the arena has been touted as a more suitable venue to farewell the singing great, given the crowds expected.

Funeral arrangements are reportedly being handled by Newark's Whighman Funeral Home, which provided the service for Whitney's father, who died in 2003.

A Newark local told CNN yesterday, 'The Houston family means a lot to this community, they have done a lot for this community, and being there for them is the best thing we can do as a community today.'

Houston was found dead on Saturday in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills' hotel suite.