LOS ANGELES - CITY officials were scrambling on Friday to try to figure out how to accommodate a public memorial service for Michael Jackson at a venue that can hold no more than 20,000 people.

The event has been set for 10am (1400 GMT, 10pm Singapore time) on Tuesday at the downtown Staples Centre, according to a statement from the Jackson family's publicist.

Future of children in doubt MEANWHILE, the future of Michael Jackson's children was thrown into question on Thursday when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring. It was the first legal move from Ms Deborah Rowe since the entertainer's death. Jackson's will asks for his 79-year-old mother, Katherine, to get permanent custody of his three. ... more

The service is expected to draw tens of thousands of spectators wanting to pay their respects to the King of Pop, who died on June 25. How city officials will handle the massive crowd remains to be settled.

Mr Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, which owns the Staples Centre and was Jackson's promoter, said tickets would be free. He was not sure how they would be distributed. A press conference to announce further details was planned for Friday.

Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said plans for the memorial are clearly moving forward, but he wished there had been more time to work out the logistics.

'If you can imagine 100,000 people show up and you have 20,000 capacity, there is not sufficient room. Now you have a crowd-control problem,' he said.

Since many people are on holiday this weekend because of US Independence Day on July 4, 'it's the worst time ... to work something out'. He also said he's concerned about the cost of police overtime for the cash-strapped city.

Jackson's brother Jermaine told CNN's Larry King that there will be a private ceremony for family and some special guests before the public memorial. He added the family wants to have other memorials around the United States. -- AP