The stage was set on Monday for Michael Jackson's final act as the world capital of make-believe braced for what could be the biggest, most spectacular celebrity send-off of all time. -- PHOTO: AP
LOS ANGELES - THE stage was set on Monday for Michael Jackson's final act as the world capital of make-believe braced for what could be the biggest, most spectacular celebrity send-off of all time.
ABOUT 50 theatres across the country, from Los Angeles to Topeka, Kansas, to Washington, DC, were planning to broadcast the memorial live, said Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. spokesman Suzanne Moore.
Admission will be free - first-come, first-served.
Ecstatic fans who won the lottery for seats at Tuesday's memorial received the tickets and spangly wristbands that will get them into the 20,000-seat Staples Center downtown. The family announced the participants will include Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Martin Luther King III.
As night fell, a local TV station reported activity at the Forest Lawn Cemetery that appeared to involve Jackson's family. That is the location where the family was expected to hold a private funeral at some point.
KCAL-TV showed helicopter footage taken at sunset Monday of a hearse backing up to a building inside the grounds. It also showed footage of a woman in sunglasses and a hat who appeared to be LaToya Jackson entering the cemetery. Representatives for the Jackson family reached Monday night did not comment.
A small handful of cars was shown coming and going from the Hall of Liberty, a circular building at the cemetery that contains a 1,200 seat auditorium.
The legal maneuvering that marked Jackson's extraordinary and troubled life also continued on Monday, with his mother losing a bid to control his enormous but tangled estate. And in one of the few reminders of Jackson's darkest hours, a New York congressman branded Jackson a 'pervert' undeserving of so much attention.
More than 1.6 million people registered for free tickets to the 10am (1700 GMT, 1am Singapore time) memorial, which will be broadcast live worldwide. A total of 8,750 people were chosen to receive two tickets each. The lucky ones picked up their passes Monday at Dodger Stadium amid heavy police presence.
Downtown hotels were quickly filling. Police, trying to avoid a mob scene, warned those without tickets to stay away because they would not be able to get close to the Staples Center.
British Airways reported a surge of bookings as soon as the memorial arrangements were announced. Virgin's trans-Atlantic flights to San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles were all packed with fans and VIPs, spokesman Paul Charles said.
'I think this is America's version of Princess Diana. People want to be in the vicinity. People from the UK and elsewhere want to share their emotions together,' Mr Charles said. -- AP
