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Los Angeles to host memorial for Michael Jackson
Thousands expected to attend service for Jackson at staples centre on Tuesday.
- AP
- Published: 23:26 July 3, 2009
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Los Angeles: The question of when and where a public memorial service will be held for Michael Jackson has finally been answered. But how city officials will handle the likelihood of a massive crowd remains to be settled.
A public memorial for the late singer has been set for 10am on Tuesday at the Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles, according to a press release from the office of the Jackson family's publicist. A news conference to announce further details was planned for Friday.
Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, which owns the Staples Centre and was Jackson's promoter, said tickets would be free. He was not sure how they would be distributed.
Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said plans for the memorial are clearly moving forward, but he wished there had been more time to work out the logistics for such a huge event.
"If you can imagine 100,000 people show up and you have 20,000 capacity [at the Staples Centre], there is not sufficient room. Now you have a crowd-control problem," he said. With the July Fourth holiday weekend "it's the worst time ...to work something out."
He also said he's concerned about the cost of police overtime for the cash-strapped city.
Earlier, London O2 concert promoter released footage of final rehearsals held two days before pop star's death. In it, Jackson does not look emaciated or bald, and he does not appear to be overly ravaged by prescription painkillers.
The footage, said to have been shot just two days before he died, preparing for 50-date run at London's 02 Arena, shows Jackson looking like the extraterrestrial pop creature people had come to know and love. His hair jet black, his skin bright white, he still looked like a great pop star.
- With inputs from Guardian News & Media Ltd
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