In pictures: Tears, cheers and revelations at Kobe Bryant memorial in Los Angeles

Tears left a trail down the centre of basketball's most famous face when Michael Jordan divulged a secret that not many people inside or outside the NBA had any clue about. We always knew what Jordan meant to Kobe Bryant. Through the former Chicago Bulls star's gravelly voice and red eyes Monday at Staples Center, we got to hear and see what Bryant meant to him. "Maybe it surprised people that Kobe and I were very close friends," Jordan said. "But we were very close friends. Kobe was my dear friend. He was like a little brother."

Details about Monday's service were scarce. As people walked into the darkened Staples Center, the purple lighting focused down at a stage in the middle, no one knew what was about to come - the program for the memorial featured no list of speakers or schedule of tributes.

That's why the crowd that gathered to celebrate Kobe and Gianna Bryant's lives and once again mourn their deaths buzzed when they heard the ceremony would open with a performance from Beyonce. After that, they marvelled at the courage and strength of Vanessa Bryant as she delivered the day's most powerful memories.

It was the kind of appearance, the kind of speech, that Jordan rarely makes. "When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died," Jordan said, his voice draped in anguish. "And as I look in this arena and across the globe, a piece of you died or else you wouldn't be here. Those are the memories that we have to live with and we learn from. I promise you from this day forward, I will live with the memories of knowing that I had a little brother that I tried to help in every way I could. Please rest in peace, little brother."

When Beyonce took the stage to open the celebration of life, a gasp went up among the until-then subdued crowd at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The big screen in the arena soon showed that many major entertainment figures were in the audience along with the expected NBA stars, including Jennifer Lopez, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.

The memorial's other musical moments would provide their own surprises. A harp and grand piano that a scrambling crew set up on stage between speakers led to speculation about who else would perform. The harp accompanied Christina Aguilera as she sang "Ave Maria".

The piano was for Alicia Keys, who used it to play Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata", which the crowd had just learned the usually non-musical Bryant had learned to play for his wife's wedding anniversary.

Shaquille O'Neal recalled his complex relationship with his former teammate, comparing it to the Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney, "whose creative rivalry led to some of the greatest music of all time."

Outside the Staples Center in LA, fans watch the memorial on special screens set up around the city

A standing ovation went up inside the stadium at the end

Fans of all ages turned up to pay their respects.

And it was all too much for some