Michael Jackson: Staples Center Tickets

UPDATE: Michael Jackson Public Memorial Service, ticket information and details.

From TMZ:

Michael Jackson's memorial service will be held at two separate venues on Tuesday morning -- the main event will be at the Staples Center and a simulcast will play at the Nokia Theatre.

A lottery has been set up for fans to obtain the free tickets -- and they can sign up for random drawing on the Staples Center website ... good luck logging on.

17,500 tickets are available for the event -- 11,000 for Staples and 6,500 for Nokia -- which will be divvied out 2 per person. If you are one of the 8,750 people selected, you will then be alerted on Sunday with further instructions.

Oh yeah ... only U.S. citizens can apply.

Also, the family wouldn't say if Michael's body would be at the memorial.

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Initial reports claimed that tickets to attend the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center would cost $25.

Fans who wish to attend Michael Jackson's star-studded memorial service at Staples Center will have to shell out $25 to sit in the stands, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

Family, friends and VIPS will have seats on the main floor for The Tuesday, July 7th Staples service, first reported by RadarOnline.com, while the general public will be plucking down $25 to sit in the stands.

The memorial service will feel like a concert production featuring guest speakers, a lot of music and video screens inside and outside of Staples, a source close to the planning tells RadarOnline.com.

Michael Jackson's close friend Elizabeth Taylor is expected to attend, along with Diana Ross.

T-shirts that were going to be sold on Michael's upcoming "This Is It" tour will not go to waste. They will be sold outside Staples to people entering the service.

The service will be held between 10am PST and noon PST.

Public reaction to the news that it would cost $25 to attend was not positive. Many fans and non-fans were disgusted by the crassness of charging to attend a memorial service.

Was the story completely false, or was the $25 charge leaked and floated out there as a trial balloon?

In any event, there will be no charge to attend.

According to TMZ:

AEG and reps for the Jackson family just announced a memorial service for Michael Jackson will take place at the Staples Center on Tuesday at 10:00 AM.

11,000 tickets will be distributed free of charge to the general public -- a press conference will be held tomorrow morning to address the situation further.

According to CNN:

Fans wishing to attend singer Michael Jackson's memorial service next week will have to register for the 11,000 free tickets, organizers said Thursday.

Details on how to register for the 10 a.m. (1 p.m. ET) service at the 20,000-seat Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Tuesday are to be announced Friday.

Jackson's family will hold a private ceremony before the public memorial service, his brother said Thursday.

Speaking to CNN's Larry King, Jermaine Jackson said the ceremony will be held Tuesday morning, but he did not say where.

Jackson rehearsed at Staples Center two nights before he died, and he appeared healthy in a video clip of the rehearsal obtained by CNN. Jackson died June 25 after collapsing at his rented home in Los Angeles.

AEG, promoter of Jackson's planned London, England, shows, released the short video of Jackson rehearsing in the arena on June 23.

Jackson sang "They Don't Care About Us," a song from his "HIStory" album, as he danced along with eight male dancers.

Here's the video.



It's pretty sad that the Staples Center was the site of Michael Jackson's last time on stage, and now it's where a memorial service for him will take place.
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The Los Angeles Times discusses the cost of the memorial event to taxpayers.

[E]ven before plans had been finalized Thursday, city leaders were raising questions about who would pay for the city resources needed to pull off a memorial to the singer.

The law enforcement deployment would involve thousands of officers -- more than were present for last month's Lakers victory parade, according to sources familiar with the planning, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

City officials debated whether taxpayers should pay all or part of the $2-million cost of the Lakers' parade from Staples Center to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and various business leaders, mindful that the city was weighing layoffs and furloughs, raised enough money privately to pay that tab.

City officials are unclear on just how large the turnout might be for Jackson's memorial service -- or whether it would spill into nearby L.A. Live or surrounding parking lots.

"There's no precedent for this," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents downtown and is serving as acting mayor because Villaraigosa is on vacation in Africa and City Council President Eric Garcetti is in Japan.

Councilman Dennis Zine said he was concerned about whether the LAPD would have time to plan for an event of that scale, particularly since many officers will also be working overtime during the Fourth of July weekend.

"You don't have a lot of time to work up a tactical plan and notify the officers," Zine said.