Los Angeles - Michael Jackson's memorial will take place on
Tuesday at the Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles - the scene of
his final rehearsal the day before he died last week, organizers
confirmed Friday.
A total of 17,500 tickets will be available via lottery for fans
who register online at Staplescenter.com. But there will be no public
viewing on jumbo screen televisions around the basketball stadium as
had been expected, and police will not allow any mass gathering
around the venue for fans without tickets. Officials announced plans
to close off a wide area of downtown Los Angeles on the day of the
event to prevent the formation of crowds.
'You must have a ticket to be admitted to the venue,' said Los
Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger. 'There's no
way to get to this venue if you don't have a ticket.'
The event is expected to be one of the most viewed funerals in
history, and organizers are making available free live video feeds to
broadcasters and websites around the world.
Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine told a press conference that
there would be no memorial procession and that no details of the
memorial service itself would be released prior to the event. He also
declined to say whether Jackson's body would be displayed at the
event.
The press conference was held a day after Jackson's promoter AEG
Live released a 30 second clip of Jackson performing at the same
venue in his last rehearsal just before he died. The video
corroborated prior comments from numerous people who had been present
and had said that Jackson appeared healthy and engaged before his
death and was fit to go ahead with his planned 50-concert comeback
engagement in London.
However there are growing indications that Jackson was abusing
prescription medications which could have led to his death. Police
reportedly found the powerful sedative Diprivan in a search of the
rented mansion where Jackson died, according to local station KTLA
and other sources. The drug is normally used as an intravenous
anesthetic and can prove deadly if used in the wrong dose.
Celebrity website TMZ.com quoted local medical sources as saying
that Jackson was an 'anesthetic addict' who would often be sedated
for minor medical procedures even when it was not necessary.
Officials from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the
office of the California Attorney General are helping police
investigate the possible abuse of prescription drugs.
USA
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