HUNDREDS of mourners lined up outside a church in George Floyd’s home town for a final public viewing ahead of his funeral today.

As the doors opened at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston, where Floyd spent most of his life, he was lying in an open gold-coloured coffin, dressed in a brown suit.

His body was escorted to what organisers say will be a six-hour public viewing expected to draw thousands of mourners.

Around half the guests at the private funeral will be family and loved ones, while community leaders, politicians and dignitaries will also be in attendance.

The mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, and actor Jamie Foxx are expected to attend the ceremony that has been paid for by boxer Floyd Mayweather.

Joe Biden will record a video message to be played at the funeral before Floyd is buried in Houston Memorial Gardens next to his mother.

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Mourners paid their respects at the public service yesterday, with many wearing masks and T-shirts with the words “I Can’t Breathe” standing six feet apart as they paused briefly to view the coffin. Some made the sign of the cross as they passed by.

On the stage behind the coffin were two identical murals of Floyd wearing a black cap that read “Houston” and angel wings drawn behind him.

“With this happening to him, it’s going to make a difference in the world,” said Pam Robinson, who grew up with Floyd.

One man in the queue, which had no shade, collapsed as temperatures spiked above 32C and was taken by stretcher to a cooling station.

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Floyd died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after he stopped responding. His death has inspired international protests and drawn new attention to the treatment of African Americans by police and the US criminal justice system.

Even as the service began, the impact of his death continued to resonate both at home and abroad. In Paris, France’s top security official said police will no longer conduct choke holds that have been blamed for multiple cases of asphyxiation and have come under renewed criticism after Floyd’s death.

And in Washington, democrats in Congress proposed a sweeping overhaul of police oversight and procedures, a potentially far-reaching legislative response to the mass protests denouncing the deaths of black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

Before Floyd’s coffin arrived, workers outside the church assembled a large floral arrangement with white roses on one side in the shape of a heart and with the initials “BLM” for Black Lives Matter, created from blue roses and placed on top of the heart. The other side of the floral arrangement was made up of red roses and appeared to be in the shape of a raised fist.

Republican Texas governor Greg Abbott was among the first to view the casket and planned to meet privately with the family later. He wore a striped gold and crimson tie, the colours of Floyd’s high school. “George Floyd is going to change the arc of the future of the United States. He has not died in vain. His life will be a living legacy about the way that America and Texas responds to this tragedy,” he said.

On Monday, Derek Chauvin – the officer accused of killing Floyd – will make his first court appearance since his charge was upgraded to second-degree murder.