Shane Warne state funeral: Fans flock to MCG as Jackson Warne, Simone Callahan pay tribute

Shane Warne’s ex-wife Simone Callahan and three children have arrived at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ahead of the cricket legend’s state memorial service on Wednesday.

Close friends and family flocked to Callahan’s Melbourne home on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the public celebration of the spin-bowler’s life, which is set to host more than 50,000 fans, ex-teammates and celebrities.

Warne’s children – Brooke, 24, Jackson, 22 and Summer, 20 – each emerged dressed in black and jumped into a large coach waiting outside the family house.  

Jackson was the spitting image of his father as he carried a slab of lemon lime vodka cruisers into the bus for funeral guests. 

Simone, wearing a black pant suit and pillbox hat, followed behind shortly afterwards, flanked her mother and dozens of friends.

Several members of the Warne crew flashed St Kilda scarves, the beloved AFL team of the cricket legend.

Prominent Aussies are already gathering at the MCG, with Molly Meldrum and Mick Gatto among the big names to make an early entrance. 

Warne’s parents are sitting front row at Melbourne’s famous cauldron, alongside their grandchildren – all shedding tears as the memorial started. 

‘Was there ever anyone bigger than Warnie in cricket? Perhaps one name, Sir Donald Bradman,’ host Eddie McGuire said as he introduced the legend’s granddaughter to sing the national anthem. 

Kellie Carter-Bell had a portrait of Warne tattooed on her leg last week. Standing beside Warne’s statue, the mother of five said Warne had given her strength to leave an abusive relationship.

‘I suffered 23 years of domestic violence and Shane Warne taught me to love myself again,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

She met the cricketer 17 years ago in a cafe in leafy Kew, when Warne provided her some life changing advice.

‘I had a chat with him and we were friends ever since,’ Ms Carter-Bell said.

‘The charisma of the man. The intelligence and not just to do with cricket. The legacy of him teaching me to love myself has made a difference in 10 lives already.’

Famous faces have started rolling into the MCG, with AFL legends Garry Lyon and Sam Newman, former cricketers David Boon, Andrew Symonds and Chris O’Donnell and music icon Molly Meldrum all in attendance.

Colourful Melbourne figure Mick Gatto, ex-footy stars Nick Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna and ex-cricketer Darren Berry are also in attendance.

Politicians including Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Labor leader Anthony Albanese, former PM John Howard and Victorian Premier Dan Andrews are among the 50,000+ packing the ground.

 Warne’s close mate Brendan Fevola arrived at the MCG on Wednesday evening after sharing emotional stories about the friendship he shared with the cricket legend. 

The 41-year-old, who played poker with the cricket legend just two weeks ago at his Melbourne home, said he was struggling ‘to come to terms’ with the news and was heartbroken for Warne’s young children – Brooke, 24, Jackson, 23, and Summer, 20.

‘I can’t stop thinking about them. Those poor kids have lost their dad,’ he said on his Fifi, Fev and Nick show. ‘They shared their lives with their dad and now they have to grieve with the world about their dad as well.

Gary Ablett-junior and Merv Hughes have also made their way into the ground on Wednesday, as has former teammate and co-commentator Adam Gilchrist.   

Melbourne’s pubs began firing up while the sun was still high in tribute to Warne. Iconic pub Young & Jackson was brimming with Warne fans in the general bar from lunchtime.

Many would not make it the short walk along the Yarra River to the MCG to watch the memorial in person.

‘We’ll be having a beer for the great man right here,’ one punter told Daily Mail Australia. 

Entering the MCG, AFL great Garry Lyon said the atmosphere entering the ground had a completely different feeling.

‘Given what we’ve been through for two years, of course we’d much rather be doing it under different circumstances, but if this was happening a year ago we wouldn’t of had the opportunity. So it’s great and people are here for the right reasons,’ he said.

Lyon said it was fitting the memorial was held under the freshly named Shane Warne stand.

‘It’s just another standing ovation for Warney,’ Lyon said. 

A stone’s throw away, at popular MCG meeting point under Flinders Street Station, Clocks was offering $5 beers to Warney fans.

Further up Flinders Street, closer to the hallowed ground where Warne will be honoured, the Duke of Wellington was equally brimming with those sharing a beer and yarn about the great man.

Dressed in a $620 Nicola Finetti dress, Versace shoes and a Bulgari handbag, reality star Arabella Del Busso was spotted entering the pub for drinks honouring Warne.

‘He was a good friend of mine,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

‘I knew him for at least six years. We met through the boxing world, Jeff Fenech and those boys. He was a beautiful man.’

Across the road, outside the MCG, crowds had gathered outside the members section in anticipation of the gates opening.

Streams of people continue to flow into the ground hours before the celebration is expected to commence. 

Jackson was spotted outside the family’s Melbourne home earlier in the afternoon with vodka cruisers and -196 Suntori lemon and vodka mixers ahead of the 7pm service.

The 22-year-old was dressed in ACB cricket shorts from the early 2000s, possibly belonging to his late father. 

Jackson said there was ‘no better place in the whole world’ to say goodbye to his father than the place where the King of Spin took his 700th test wicket. 

‘It’s very special for a lot of us, especially our family,’ he said.

‘We’ve been lucky enough to come here (to the MCG) our whole lives and watch him play and put lots of hard work in on this very ground.

‘Dad always loved a crowd, putting on a performance … I think, sad day as it is, with more people here it won’t be as sad.’   

His mother Simone Callahan also made an appearance on Wednesday afternoon, parading the family’s Insta-famous dog, Mason, in front of the cameras as she took out the bins.  

It’s expected Warne’s three children will sit in the newly-named 45,000-seat Shane Warne Stand – replacing the Great Southern Stand. 

Jackson told Jam TV – owned by family friend Eddie McGuire – the MCG is the perfect place to farewell his father because he had so many great moments on the ground. 

‘I think there’s no other better place in the whole world for Melburnians, Victorians, Australians and people from around the world that loved him as a cricketer and a mate – to come and say goodbye,’ he said.

‘He’s got a statue out the front, and to have a grandstand named after him now is just unbelievable.

‘As sad as it is for all of us, to come and sit down at this ground for the rest of our lives and be able to say we’re sitting in Dad’s stand forever is pretty special, and I couldn’t think of a better place around the world to have a send-off for him because this is what he deserves.

‘I think Dad always loved a crowd, he always loved putting on a performance.’ 

Eddie McGuire, who will MC the event as he did Warne’s private funeral, confirmed his immediately family will break their public silence at the event on Wednesday night.

‘The family and children haven’t spoken in public, they will tonight. The outpouring of emotion is going to be quite significant,’ he said.

‘Chris Martin has written a piece called the Eulogy, then there’s Elton and Ed Sheeran. Let’s not kid ourselves, this was the world champion of scallywag.

‘Somebody described it as Glastonbury meets the biggest sports night ever. Warnie sprinkled his gold dust everywhere.’ 

Don Bradman’s granddaughter Greta Bradman has been confirmed as singing the national anthem as the families of Australia’s two greatest ever players come together.

McGuire said the event would be Australia’s biggest broadcast event with star-studded tributes but would remain true to Warne’s character.

‘He was somebody who gave all of himself in so many ways … he was a scallywag,’ McGuire told reporters on Tuesday. 

‘There’ll be tears tomorrow night, there’ll be a lot of laughs as well, and a lot of reminiscing, and that’s what’s going to make this a special night.

Australian test captain Pat Cummins read an emotional poem for his ‘idol’ on Wednesday morning, sharing the words written by journalist Adam Burnett. 

‘He was just a bloke – extraordinary – but fallible and flawed,’ Cummins read.

‘It meant he felt like one of us, made him all the more adored

‘Which is why he’s left us grappling, left the cricket world defeated,

‘From Launceston to the Long Room, we’ve all been left depleted

‘But flip that thought and think instead how enriched we are by Warne,

‘Let’s salute a pure entertainer – the greatest bowler ever born.’   

‘Elton John, Chris Martin, Robbie Williams, and Ed Sheeran will be singing dedicated songs to Shane Warne in his memory.

‘I mean, this is something when you look at it from a concert point of view, that is almost unprecedented here in Australia.’  

McGuire said Warne’s three children Brooke, 24, Jackson and Summer Warne, 20, as well as his father Keith Warne, would all speak his service.  

On Tuesday an additional 15,000 tickets were released for the event, adding to the already 50,000 reserved seats. 

All major free-to-air channels and Foxtel will broadcast the memorial across Australia from 7pm.

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the United Kingdom will receive a livestream of the event. 

The MCG gates are set to open at 5.30pm and guests must be seated by 6.45pm for a 7pm start. 

It will be an alcohol-free event.