Global Arab Network | Goodbye: Jackson memorial set for Tuesday

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Goodbye: Jackson memorial set for Tuesday

- George Haddad

Saturday, 04 July 2009 22:41

Tickets for a public memorial service for Michael Jackson in Los Angeles on Tuesday made available through an online lottery.

Los Angeles confirms it will hold a memorial service for Michael Jackson next Tuesday.

It will be held at the Staples Center in California, the rehersal venue where the singer last performed.

Organizers of the event said fans wishing to attend would have to register online.

No details are available on the service itself but procedures were announced for obtaining free tickets to it at a Friday news conference at the centre.

Tim Leiweke, the Staple Center's president, said 11,000 tickets have been made available by the Jackson family for the service at the downtown arena. Another 6,500 free tickets are available for a simulcast of the memorial at the adjacent Nokia Theater.

The Staples Center has a capacity of 20,000 and the other tickets will go to Jackson family members and their friends.

Fans were told to register at the centre's website, until 6 p.m. PT Saturday when 8,750 names will be randomly selected. Fans selected will be notified Sunday, and each will receive two tickets and wristbands on Monday.

To discourage fans from thronging in the downtown area, Leiweke emphasized that only those holding tickets and wristbands will be allowed into the neighbourhood surrounding the arena.

A free worldwide video feed will be provided, and Los Angeles city councillor Jan Perry added that fans who don't have tickets and wristbands would be better off watching the service on television or the internet.

Even so, city officials are scrambling to come up with ways to control the massive crowd that is expected to descend on the downtown area.

CBC News reported early Friday that the arena was surrounded by police barricades and a few fans had already turned up.

Los Angeles city councilman Dennis Zine told The Associated Press that, with the July 4 holiday, "It's the worst time ... to work something out."

Perry told the news conference the Los Angeles Police Department's budget provides for extraordinary events that draw large crowds, but said the cash-strapped city would appreciate help to offset incremental costs, such as sanitation.
(AP, CBC, Reuters)

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