Michael Jackson extends residency

Mar 12, 2009, 5:00 GMT

Michael Jackson has extended his London residency to 30 nights.

The pop superstar initially agreed to perform 10 concerts at The 02 arena but is prolonging his stay due to overwhelming demand when a percentage of tickets went on pre-sale yesterday (11.03.09).

His extended 'This Is It' residency, dubbed his final UK concerts, is now nine nights longer than his one-time chart rival Prince, who performed 21 sold-out shows at the venue in 2007.

Over 1.5 million people registered from over 220 countries to get their hands on tickets before they officially go on sale on Friday (13.03.09) and websites crashed as they struggled to cope with the volume of people trying to access them.

Promoters AEG Live are rumoured to be considering extending the mammoth run by another 20 shows.

Tickets, which are priced at £50, £65 and £75, have already started appearing on internet auction website eBay for over £700 a pair, while some front row seats are listed for up to £10,000 for two.

One fan, who couldn?t get tickets in the pre-sale, said: "I knew demand would be high, but nothing prepared me for this. I tried to get tickets all morning but it was impossible. If this really is it for Michael then everyone will want to be part of it. Michael could do 100 shows and it still wouldn't be enough!"

Initial reports suggested cash-strapped Jackson could earn up to £5 million per show - made up from a share of ticket sales and a sizeable percentage of profits from merchandise sales - when his live comeback was first announced.

The 50-year-old singer could rake in a staggering £150 million from the run of concerts.

Michael Jackson 'This Is It' dates:

Wednesday, July 8

Friday, July 10

Sunday, July 12

Tuesday, July 14

Thursday, July 16

Saturday, July 18

Monday, July 20

Wednesday, July 22

Friday, July 24

Sunday, July 26

Tuesday, July 28

Saturday August 1

Monday, August 3

Monday, August 10

Wednesday, August 12

Monday, August 17

Wednesday, August 19

Monday, August 24

Wednesday, August 26

Friday, August 28

Sunday, August 30

Tuesday, September 1

Thursday, September 3

Sunday, September 6

Tuesday, September 8

Thursday, September 10

Monday, September 21

Wednesday, September 23

Sunday, September 27

Tuesday, September 29