Michael Forever – The Tribute Concert
Michael Forever – The Tribute Concert was a music benefit concert which was held on 8 October 2011 at the 74,500 seater Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.
Michael Forever - The Tribute Concert.
The concert was dedicated to American entertainer Michael Jackson, who died on 25 June 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest, and celebrated the 40th anniversary of his solo career.[1] The concert helped to raise awareness and funds for AIDS Project Los Angeles and The Prince's Trust.[2]
Background[edit]
The event was already in "advanced stages" in April 2011, when it was presented to the majority of the Jackson family. Katherine Jackson said "Michael gave his entire life to the world through his love, his music and his devotion to healing the planet. I am positive that this event will be an event great enough in scale, talent and imagination to form a worthy celebration of Michael's life."[3]
Production and broadcasters[edit]
The concert was organised by Global Live Events LLP, formed by film producers Michael Henry and CEO Chris Hunt, and US CEO Eric Bute.[3]
It was expected that the concert would be broadcast throughout the world to 30 countries in 2D and 3D formats. However, this was later cancelled due to copyright issues.[4]
Ticket pricing and ticket sales[edit]
Tickets were priced from £55. Standard seats cost £87, with a restricted view at £55. Standard middle and upper-tier tickets cost £175 and £137 respectively and the more restricted standing tickets were sold at £97. The best seats in the middle tier were priced at £240 each, while the best standing tickets cost £195.[5] Student tickets were available from £25.[6]
Chris Hunt of Global Live Events confirmed before the event that the stadium's capacity had been reduced down from 75,000 to 50,000, with only 40,000 tickets having been sold.[7] Cardiff Council also confirmed that some council staff and councillors were sent e-mails by the Millennium Stadium offering them "a number of free tickets" to the event. A Cardiff Council spokesperson confirmed that they did not know how many free tickets were available, but they were not offered to all council staff.[8]
Aftermath of the event[edit]
Global Live Events LLP, which had been formed on 29 March 2011 by film producers Michael Henry and Chris Hunt went into administration on the day of the concert, when both Henry and Hunt both quit the partnership.[11] Both men, Global Live Events and Hunt's media company Iambic Productions were sued in the High Court by Quickdraw - a private investment fund, over ownership of the recordings of the concert. Quickdraw won the case, with the judge stating that Hunt and Henry were 'the most unreliable of witnesses' and their account to the court was 'wholly unbelievable'. Quickdraw was awarded damages of £5 million and costs of in excess of £700,000