Michael Jackson memorial service
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (July 2009) |
The funeral of Michael Jackson on July 7, 2009, is expected to be the biggest in entertainment history, eclipsing that of Elvis Presley in 1977, which attracted 77,000 people, and rival that of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, which saw 250,000 people gather in Hyde Park alone.[1] The global audience is expected to exceed 300 million.[2]
There will be a private family service on the morning of Tuesday, July 7, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, followed by a public memorial at the Staples Center, where he rehearsed and prepared for the This Is It concerts on June 23, two days before he died. TMZ, the website that broke the news of his death, has reported that his body will be brought to the Staples Center.[2]
Staples released 17,500 free tickets, the recipients chosen by an online lottery that attracted 1.2 million applicants in the first 24 hours.[3] Los Angeles is reported to be in lockdown after police requests that non-ticket holders stay away were ignored. Streets around the Center have been sealed off, and an additional 1,400 officers are on duty.[2]
You can see this event online at the following websites
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/live
Sky News: http://skynewshd.streaming.skysports.com/live/skynewshd/
Guest list
The participants for the memorial have been named as:[4]
- Ron Boyd (family friend)
- Madonna
- Kobe Bryant
- Mariah Carey
- Beyonce
- Andrae Crouch Choir
- Berry Gordy
- Jennifer Hudson
- Shaheen Jafargholi (finalist on Britain's Got Talent)
- Magic Johnson
- Martin Luther King III
- Bernice A. King
- John Mayer
- Lionel Richie
- Smokey Robinson
- Rev. Al Sharpton
- Brooke Shields
- Pastor Lucious Smith (family friend)
- Usher
- Stevie Wonder
Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and mother of two of his three children, hoping not to be a distraction, is not attending the funeral.[5] Also not attending are Quincy Jones[citation needed] and actress Elizabeth Taylor[citation needed], one of Jackson's closest friends.
Casket
The family has purchased a $25,000 gold-plated, solid bronze "Promethean" casket, similar to the one James Brown was buried in.[6][7] The Daily Telegraph writes that they would like to have the casket entombed in concrete because of fears it may be interfered with, and later moved to the Neverland Ranch, next to the train station, which Jackson used every day to reach his private zoo. As burial outside a cemetery is illegal in in the state of California, the family will have to petition for a change in the law.[8]
References
- ^ Thompson, Paul. Michael Jackson: family to finalise funeral plans, The Daily Telegraph, June 30, 2009.
- ^ a b c Singh, Anita. Michael Jackson funeral to take place in Los Angeles, The Daily Telegraph, July 7, 2009.
- ^ Allen, Nick. Thirteen applications per second for Michael Jackson memorial tickets , The Daily Telegraph, July 6, 2009.
- ^ Jackson Memorial Guest List Released, July 6, 2009
- ^ Debbie Rowe Says She'll Forgo Michael Jackson Memorial, ABC News, July 6, 2009
- ^ Police target 30 in hunt for Michael Jackson’s drug suppliers, The Sunday Times, July 5, 2009.
- ^ Promethean Bronze, Caskets by Batesville.
- ^ Allen, Nick. Michael Jackson's family 'want him buried in concrete' to protect his grave, The Sunday Telegraph, July 4, 2009.
