Quick Lit: Jacko biography written in 2 days
- 00:01:38
- ITN
Quick Lit: Jacko biography written in 2 days
Fans have begun pouring into downtown LA for Michael Jackson's memorial service which his good friend Dame Elizabeth Taylor dismissed as a "public whoopla". Britain's Got Talent finalist Shaheen Jafargholi will feature alongside worldwide music icons including Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder to pay tribute to the King of Pop. Basketball legend Magic Johnson, singer Usher, Smokey Robinson, Brooke Shields and Jennifer Hudson will also be present. Some 18,000 fans, who won tickets in a web lottery, will crowd into the Staples Center arena and a nearby, overflow venue for the two-hour ceremony honouring 50-year-old Jackson, who died on June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest at his LA mansion. Security is tight with more than 250,000 people expected on the streets outside the sports arena - which is home to the LA Lakers basketball team - to pay their final respect to the Thriller singer and one-time member of Motown legends the Jackson 5. But Oscar-winning Dame Elizabeth dismissed the event, writing on Twitter: "I said I wouldn't go to the Staples Centre and I certainly don't want to become a part of it. I love him too much." She added: "I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others. How I feel is between us. Not a public event. And I cannot guarantee that I would be coherent to say a word." The anticipation among the selected fans comes as the courts untangle the future of Jackson's estate and police investigate the circumstances of his death. Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Jackson's family was planning a "private family function" at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills. The ceremony will not be shown on the arena's giant outdoor TV screen and there will be no funeral procession through the city.
ITN | July 7, 2009
