Thousands of attendees, including representatives from over 217 countries, territories and international organizations, are expected to participate in the state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday.

The ceremony will be the first major public event staged since new police security guidelines were implemented in the aftermath of Abe’s killing on July 8, and the capital has seen a massive ramping up of security measures to protect against terrorism and other incidents, including the use of sniffer dogs at train stations and police patrols at Tokyo-area airports.

Against that backdrop, what exactly will take place as foreign and local dignitaries gather to mourn the slain Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight?

Below is a rundown of the order of events for the day and what to expect:

When and where is the funeral being held?

The funeral is slated to start from 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the Nippon Budokan in central Tokyo.

Who will be going?

Around 6,000 overseas and domestic grandees are expected (see endnote) to attend the funeral service. That number will include:

  • past and present leaders of Japan’s legislative, judicial and administrative branches of power, as well as various representatives from each branch

  • past and present members of parliament

  • local government representatives

  • foreign dignitaries

  • national business and community leaders

How will the public be involved in the proceedings?

While the area immediately around the Nippon Budokan will be off-limits to anyone other than invited guests, the funeral committee will set aside an area for the laying of flowers by members of the general public at Kudanzaka Park near the venue.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference Wednesday that the funeral planning committee had decided to open up two flower offering stands in the park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the day of the funeral.

Mourners are asked to prepare their own flowers and to refrain from leaving other types of offerings. Security guards will check their belongings as they arrive, and only those who arrive to lay flowers will be allowed into the park.

What will the ceremony entail?

The memorial service is expected to last approximately 1½ hours — about half the length of the memorial service held for Shigeru Yoshida in 1965, the last time a former prime minister was honored with a state funeral.

After entering the hall, attendees will listen to a speech given by Matsuno, the deputy chair of the funeral committee. They will then rise for the national anthem before observing a moment’s silence.

That will then be followed by commemorative speeches — first from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as chair of the funeral committee, then Hiroyuki Hosoda, speaker of the House of Representatives; Hidehisa Otsuji, speaker of the House of Councilors; Saburo Tokura, chief justice of the Supreme Court; and finally former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as a representative of Abe’s closest colleagues.

In line with tradition, Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko will not be attending the funeral, and their imperial envoys will pay their respects at the altar in their stead.

Other members of the imperial family, including Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, will then lay flowers of condolence, followed by other attendees, including members of the bereaved family.

The ceremony will end with the sending off of Abe’s remains and the laying of commemorative wreaths.

Clarification: The expected number of attendees — 6,000 — was an estimate. The actual number, as of Sept. 27, is about 4,300.