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Beyonce kicks off LA memorial for Kobe Bryant and daughter

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Jocelyne Zablit, Agence France-Presse

LOS ANGELES - Beyonce kicked off a star-studded memorial ceremony in Los Angeles on Monday for basketball great Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna who died along with seven others in a helicopter crash last month.&quot;I&#x27;m here because I love Kobe,&quot; said the 70-time Grammy-nominated artist as she launched into one of Bryant&#x27;s favorite songs &quot;XO,&quot; dressed in a golden suit -- the color of the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant&#x27;s team for two decades.The public memorial -- dubbed &quot;A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant&quot; -- was being held at Staples Center, the arena where Bryant wowed fans for 17 years.The 2/24 date for the memorial carries special significance as it coincides with Bryant&#x27;s jersey number -- &quot;24&quot; -- and Gianna&#x27;s &quot;2&quot; jersey number.Fellow NBA legends Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O&#x27;Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell were among those attending the memorial along with Bryant family members and fans.&quot;It&#x27;s hard in a two-minute, five-minute time to say everything he meant to the world, to the NBA and to basketball fans. He&#x27;s bigger than life,&quot; Johnson said on Sunday. &quot;And it will take years to get over his passing and his daughter and the seven other people who lost their lives as well.&quot;<div>&#x27;He was my everything&#x27; </div>Bryant&#x27;s widow Vanessa, paid a tearful tribute to her late husband and daughter, saying she could not fathom life without them.&quot;He was my everything,&quot; she said, recalling meeting Bryant when she was 17 years old. &quot;He was the most amazing husband.&quot;She spoke of her heartbreak at not being able to watch Gianna grow up and missing important moments of her life.&quot;I won&#x27;t be able to tell her how gorgeous she looks on her wedding day,&quot; she said through tears. &quot;I&#x27;ll never get to see my baby girl walk down the aisle, have a father-daughter dance with her daddy.&quot;A visibly shaken Jimmy Kimmel also spoke at the ceremony saying he saw Kobe and Gianna&#x27;s faces and jersey numbers everywhere in Los Angeles.Among other celebrities attending the memorial were filmmaker Spike Lee -- who was close friends with Bryant and directed a documentary on his life -- and rapper Snoop Dogg, an avid Lakers fan.Many of the fans lucky enough to nab one of the much sought-after 20,000 tickets for the memorial wore the gold and purple colors of the Lakers as they headed for the two-and-a-half hour ceremony being held amid tight security.&quot;Kobe meant everything for this city, for this team and for me,&quot; said Karen Sanchez, 41, as she waited with friends to enter the arena. &quot;I watched him play from the beginning.&quot;Marcos Rojas, 23, another ticket holder, said Bryant&#x27;s January 26 death near Los Angeles had been devastating to fans like him who worshiped the player.&quot;For me, it was like losing a friend,&quot; said Rojas who wore a Lakers jersey with Kobe&#x27;s number.&quot;I always watched him playing with my friends,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;I always picked Kobe to play in my video games. I couldn&#x27;t leave home the day of his passing.&quot;Those attending the memorial were given a 24-page program with pictures of Bryant and his family as well as a pin and black T-shirt featuring images of Kobe and his daughter on the back.

LOS ANGELES - Beyonce kicked off a star-studded memorial ceremony in Los Angeles on Monday for basketball great Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna who died along with seven others in a helicopter crash last month.

LOS ANGELES - Beyonce kicked off a star-studded memorial ceremony in Los Angeles on Monday for basketball great Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna who died along with seven others in a helicopter crash last month.

Beyonce kicks off LA memorial for Kobe Bryant and daughter

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Beyonce kicks off LA memorial for Kobe Bryant and daughter

Jocelyne Zablit,

Agence France-Presse

Published Feb 25, 2020 05:37 AM PHT

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Beyonce

Kobe Bryant

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