Whitney Houston will be laid to rest privately near her childhood church in Newark, NJ and will not have a public memorial according to NBC New York.
The 18,000-seat Prudential Center had been planned as a setting for a public memorial, but the family decided overnight to keep services private, a source confirmed to NBC New York.
A private invite-only funeral is scheduled for Saturday at noon at New Hope Baptist Church. It will be closed off to the public and media.
According to NBC New York:
Thousands had been expected to attend the Prudential memorial Friday, and it’s likely crowds will end up in the area around the church on Saturday instead. The Prudential Center showed Houston’s face in lights Monday night as a tribute to the singer, who was found dead in a hotel room in Los Angeles Saturday
The singer’s body was flown to New Jersey by private plane Monday evening and arrived at Teterboro Airport just before 11 p.m.
A police escort traveled with Houston’s body to the Whigham Funeral Home.
