HUGE TURNOUT EXPECTED TO FAREWELL BROADCASTER

Legendary broadcaster Sir Paul Holmes will be laid to rest this week in a service dedicated to celebrating ‘‘his story’’.

The funeral will be held at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell, Auckland, on Friday at 1pm.

Holmes’ funeral will be followed by a private family cremation.

Close friend Mike Williams said he was not aware of what the family had planned, but he expected a huge audience to farewell his friend.

‘‘I think that half of Auckland will be there,’’ he said.

Williams, who said he was a ‘‘bloody mess’’ since Holmes’ death, was keeping in contact with the Holmes family. ‘‘I’ve been in touch and it’s hard,’’ he said, without wanting to comment further.

Holy Trinity Cathedral’s The Very Reverend Jo Kelly-Moore said while the family were still in the ‘‘early stage’’ of planning the funeral, the most important aspect would be to celebrate Holmes’ story and the legacy he left behind.

‘‘It’s early days but what we all know is that Sir Paul gathered us around stories. He told us them, he crafted them,’’ she said.

‘‘We didn’t always agree with them, but he certainly gathered us around stories so as we gather here at the cathedral on Friday, at the heart of our gathering is going to be honouring his story.’’

She would not comment on who would be speaking at the funeral or who would be attending.

It’s not clear whether the ceremony will be broadcast.

Holmes’ funeral is expected to be the largest at Holy Trinity Cathedral since rugby legend Sir Wilson Whineray’s last year, when around 500 dignitaries, family and friends gathered.

Other notable New Zealanders to be farewelled at the cathedral include Sir Edmund Hillary in 2008 and former governor-general Sir Paul Reeves in 2011.