Friday, 3 July 2009
Michael Jackson's promoter has announced that 11,000 free tickets would be available to the public for the King of Pop's memorial service, to be held next Tuesday in LA.
The head of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, announced on Thursday evening that the ceremony would be held at the Staples Center, which is owned by the company. AEG will provide further details later on Friday.
Ken Sunshine, a spokesman for the Jackson family, said the public memorial service would start at 10:00 local time (17:00 GMT).
The plans have alarmed local authorities, who fear that vast crowds could descend on the complex, located in the city center.
Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said the family should consider delaying the memorial to allow planning time.
"If you can imagine 100,000 people show up and you have 20,000 capacity, there is not sufficient room. Now you have a crowd-control problem," Zine told reporters on Thursday.
On Tuesday morning, Michael Jackson's body will be escorted by a motorcade from the Forest Lawn Mortuary in Los Angeles to the Staples Center. Hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to gather along the highway.
U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute to Jackson in an interview on Thursday night.
Asked by an AP reporter why he hadn't yet commented on Jackson's death, the president said: "Look, you're the first person who has actually asked me about it."
"I think that Michael Jackson is, will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers. I grew up on his music. Still have all his stuff on my iPod. I think that his brilliance as a performer also was paired with a tragic and, in many ways, sad personal life. But I'm glad to see that he is being remembered primarily for the great joy that he brought to a lot of people through his extraordinary gifts as an entertainer."
Michael Jackson died on July 25 of a cardiac arrest at the age of 50. The circumstances of his death remain uncertain, an autopsy has proved inconclusive and investigators are awaiting a toxicology report.
