Stephen Hawking memorial under way at Westminster Abbey

15 июня

13:31 2018

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Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter attending the ceremony — Image caption Actor Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter were among those attending

Tributes are being paid to renowned physicist Professor Stephen Hawking in a Westminster Abbey memorial service.

British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Hawking in a BBC drama, and astronaut Tim Peake are among those giving readings at the ceremony.

Professor Hawking died in March, aged 76, after a long battle with motor neurone disease.

His ashes will be buried alongside other great scientists like Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton.

25,000 applications

Prof Hawking's words have also been set to an original score by composer Vangelis, which will be beamed into space towards the nearest black hole after the service.

Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, and Prof Hawking's collaborator and Nobel prize winner, Kip Thorne, are also giving tributes.

TV personalities David Walliams and Piers Morgan, musician Nile Rodgers and Professor Brian Cox are among those who have joined members of the public to celebrate the life of the scientist.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The former wife of Stephen Hawking Jane Hawking arrives at the service

Image copyright EPA

Image caption British physicist Brian Cox has said A Brief History of Time "re-affirmed... that [physics] is what I’d like to spend my life doing"

One thousand members of the public, from more than 100 countries, were offered the opportunity to attend the service, after a ballot attracted 25,000 applications for tickets.

Guests were welcomed by volunteers from the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

Also at the service are students who all use electronic communication devices to enable them to speak - just as Prof Hawking did.

Rose Brown, 20, a student at the National Star College in Cheltenham, a college for young people with disabilities and learning difficulties, said it was a great honour to be present.

Speaking through her synthesiser, she said: "He showed what people with disabilities can do.

"I'm going to be an actress; everybody who puts their mind to something gets to be it. Stephen Hawking proved that more than anyone."

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The Dean of Westminster, John Hall accompanied by Hawking's first wife Jane Hawking and son and daughter Tim and Lucy Hawking, presides over the interment of the ashes

Skip Twitter post by @wabbey

This is the memorial stone which will be placed on top of #StephenHawking's grave. Incised in the stone is Hawking’s most famous equation describing the entropy of a black hole. pic.twitter.com/ClBhsXucVm

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) June 15, 2018

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End of Twitter post by @wabbey

Obituary: Prof Stephen Hawking

Image copyright AFP

❝A man of great humour, he became a popular ambassador for science and was always careful to ensure that the general public had ready access to his work.❞

Read the obituary in full

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption His three children, including Lucy and Timothy Hawking, have thanked Westminster Abbey for allowing their father to have a "distinguished" final resting place

Image copyright PA

Image caption Jack Smith, 21, Rose Brown, 20, and Jason Felce, 20, all communicate electronically and are among the guests attending the memorial service

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Musician Nile Rogers attended the service

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