Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona drew an estimated 90,000 attendees, making it one of the largest tributes for a private citizen in recent memory. Thousands gathered Sunday to pay tribute to Turning Point USA founders Charlie Kirk, whose memorial service drew one of the largest public turnouts for a private citizen.
The organization told Fox News Digital that approximately 90,000 people attended the service, with roughly 70,000 filling the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to capacity. Another 10,000 gathered at the nearby Desert Diamond Arena, a designated overflow venue, according to estimates provided by TPUSA. Additionally, another 10,000 watched Kirk’s memorial service from nearby viewing areas.
The event’s scale underscored its significance, with political heavyweights, conservative media figures, and religious leaders headlining the ceremony. The service for Kirk was broadcast across every major U.S. television network, according to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung.
Kirk’s life and legacy were commemorated in a manner that reflected his multifaceted role in American public life. His assassination on Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University during TPUSA’s American Comeback Tour marked a pivotal moment, with the charismatic Kirk in the middle of taking open-mic questions from a crowd of thousands before a single shot ended his life. The event drew comparisons to the cultural outpourings that marked the deaths of other iconic figures, including Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, and Martin Luther King Jr., each of which also saw massive public gatherings and media attention.
In addition to the physical attendance, the memorial service’s broadcast reached a vast audience, with Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributing to the report that captured the significance of Kirk’s passing. The event not only highlighted his personal life but also the broader societal impact of his work with TPUSA, which has been instrumental in shaping contemporary political discourse in the United States.