Specific plans for Michael Jackson’s memorial service were announced at a press conference on Friday (scroll down for footage), and those who spoke made it clear that this will be an unprecedented ordeal, even by Los Angeles standards.
Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG, which owns L.A.’s Staples Center — the site of Jackson’s Tuesday memorial service (and the site of his rehearsal two days before his death) — opened up his statements by offering condolences to Jackson’s family, friends and fans.
Then came the details: 17,500 tickets will be available free of charge — 11,000 of which will be for the Staples Center and the remaining 6,500 of which will be for the nearby Nokia Theatre, where the service will be shown via feed on the venue’s big screens; those wanting to attend the memorial service must register on Staplescenter.com (note: the site may take a while to load) through 6 p.m. PT Saturday; people randomly selected to attend the service will be notified on Sunday and given further instructions about retrieving their tickets.
Unfortunately, little else was revealed about Tuesday’s big event, including what it would actually entail (“No details are forthcoming about the memorial”), and the question of whether or not Jackson’s body would be on display was purposely dodged.
The Jacksons’ spokesperson, Ken Sunshine, repeatedly emphasized that the memorial service was “all about the fans.”
The King of Pop passed away June 25 following a cardiac arrest.
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