Tuesday July 7, 2009
Homage to a king
By DAISY NGUYEN
Michael Jackson fans beat the odds for memorial tickets.
MICHAEL Jackson fans began to celebrate on Sunday after beating the odds to win coveted tickets to the pop star’s memorial service at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
More than 1.6 million fans registered online for free in the random drawing of only 8,750 names. Each person selected received two tickets to today’s memorial. The odds of getting a ticket were about 1 in 183.
Emotional sendoff: Michael Jackson’s memorial service will be watched around the globe. “I’m in shock that it has happened,” said Deka Motanya, 27, of San Francisco. “It’s surreal.” She received an e-mail message notifying her, “Congratulations, your application was successful.”
She immediately Twittered: “OMG OMG OMG OMG i got tickets to the michael jackson memorial service!!!”
David Gobaud, 25, who studies computer science at Stanford University, said he didn’t believe his e-mail was real at first. “It’s Michael Jackson, one of the greatest musical stars of all time,” he said.
Another winner was Zach Moss, a 21-year-old Chicagoan working for the summer as a DJ in Las Vegas. He said clubgoers have responded strongly to Jackson’s music since his death.
“You can play two, three Michael Jackson songs back to back and people are going to have this huge jubilation celebration,” he said. “Everyone throws their drinks up and shouts, ‘MJ!’ It’s extremely powerful.”
The tickets will admit 11,000 people to the Staples Center plus 6,500 in the Nokia Theater overflow section next door. The streets around Staples Center will be closed to prevent those without tickets from trying to attend, police said on Sunday.
Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell warned the ticketless to stay away: “You’ll be standing in the hot sun on a city street with a lot of other people ... but not within eyeshot of Staples.”
The ceremony will not be shown on Staples’ giant outdoor TV screen and there will be no funeral procession through the city. No details were available about the actual memorial events.
Jackson’s family was planning a private ceremony at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, McDonnell said. He did not provide further details.
At the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles hotel about a half mile from the Staples Center, more than 90 percent of the hotel’s 1,000 rooms were booked for Monday and Tuesday night, up from about 60% last week.
City officials are preparing for huge crowds. McDonnell would not say how many police would be on the job, but alluded to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the recent championship celebration for the Los Angeles Lakers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Jackson died at age 50 on June 25 after going into cardiac arrest in the bedroom of his rented mansion. The cause of Jackson’s death has not been determined. Autopsy results are not expected for several weeks.
Also on Sunday, a judge signed search warrants connected to the investigation of Jackson’s death, Los Angeles County Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini said. The warrants were sealed and Parachini would not discuss any details.
Authorities are investigating allegations that Jackson had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. The powerful sedative Diprivan, which is usually administered by anesthesiologists in hospitals, was found in his home. It was not known what drugs, if any, Jackson obtained from doctors.
More than a week after his death, tributes and accolades keep coming. Madonna had a Jackson impersonator dance to Wanna Be Starting Something at her concert last Saturday in the same London arena where he was to stage his comeback.
Rev Al Sharpton called for “love vigils” across the United States for Jackson, asking people to gather in schools, community centres and churches to watch the memorial service and talk about the pop star’s “message” instead of the “mess” surrounding his death. The memorial service will be broadcast live on five television networks in the United States. – AP
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