/R E P E A T -- René Angélil's State Funeral Service - Security Requirements/

MONTREAL, Jan. 20, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - René Angélil's State Funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, January 22, at Montreal's Notre-Dame Basilica (110, Notre-Dame West St., Montréal) and will be officiated by The Most Reverend Christian Lépine, Archbishop of Montreal.

René Angélil will lie in state at Notre-Dame Basilica on Thursday, January 21, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Message to all media representatives

Television feed pool the Lying in State Period (January 21, from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) and the Funeral (January 22, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

TVA Group will install all TV broadcasting equipment to provide coverage for the Lying in state period and the funeral service. TVA will install its studio behind the Basilica in a room called "espace B". The network will provide feed to all other networks who wish to re-broadcast images during the course of these two days. The director will be Jean Lamoureux and he will be assisted by Richard Desjardins from Radio-Canada.

To make arrangements for access to this pool and to the video signal, please contact Julie Brabant at 438 491-9910.

Out of respect to those who will be attending René Angelil's funeral service, it won't be possible to take images inside the Basilica other than those supplied by the pool. No restriction exists outside the Basilica or in the dedicated interview space during the lying in state period.

Photographers

During the period of lying in state, ensuring the mourners' right to privacy is our main priority.

During the period of lying in state and the funeral service, photos taken to the family's photographer will be made available to media outlets.

For information regarding photos taken during the funeral service, please contact Olivier Samson-Arcand by phone at 514 992-6127 or by email at [email protected].

Dedicated interview space during the lying in state period

During the lying in state period on Thursday, January 21, a room in the Basilica will be made available to journalists to allow them to interview various VIPs present to pay tribute to René Angélil.

State Funeral service accreditation

During the funeral service, spaces will be reserved for media representatives.

In order to ensure your access inside Notre-Dame Basilica the day of the funeral service, you must confirm that you wish to attend the ceremony prior to 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 21.

By doing so, we will be able to register you on the accreditation list and the media reception service will be able to quickly guide you to the media's reserved spaces.

Security Requirements – Accreditation

Because of safety requirements, all media representatives who will want to get inside the Basilica or to stay within the secured zones will need to wear an accreditation badge that they will receive at the media table that will be accessible at 426 St-Sulpice St.,  along the east side of the Basilica. The media table will open:

• From noon to 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 21
• From noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, January 22

Accreditation process

The cultural media must send their requests to the office of Francine Chaloult (coordinates below).

Other media should contact the Ministry of International Relations at [phone] or at the following email address: [email protected] .

Please send your name, the name of the media outlet you represent and your email and telephone contact information.

Should additional information arise regarding funeral service procedures, it will be made available in a future message.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

SOURCE Bureau de Francine Chaloult (Le)

le bureau de Francine Chaloult, 514 487 6547, [email protected]; Philippe Hébert, Conseiller, Direction des communications et des affaires publiques, Ministère des Relations internationales, de la Francophonie, Tel. : [phone], ext. 56009