Michael Jackson memorial service
A public memorial service for Michael Jackson was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, twelve days after his death. The event was preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty in Hollywood Hills, and followed by a gathering in Beverly Hills for Jackson's family and close friends.
Date
July 7, 2009
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, United States
Rev. Lucius Smith, Smokey Robinson, Mariah Carey, Macaulay Culkin, Trey Lorenz, Queen Latifah, Lionel Richie, John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Jennifer Hudson, Berry Gordy, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Brooke Shields, Jermaine Jackson, Martin Luther King III, Bernice King, Sheila Jackson Lee, Usher, Shaheen Jafargholi, Kenny Ortega, Judith Hill, Marlon Jackson, Janet Jackson, Paris Jackson, Orianthi Panagaris
Jackson's closed, solid-bronze casket, plated with 14-karat gold and lined with blue velvet, which was not originally expected to be at the memorial service, arrived just before 10:00 a.m. local time when it was placed in front of the stage. The memorial began a few minutes after 10:30 a.m. with music and a eulogy from Pastor Lucious Smith. The stage was filled with floral arrangements, with photographs and film of Jackson and the Jackson 5 projected onto screens at the back. Music and video montages traced his life from the beginning of his career to the end.[1]
Jackson's brothers, sitting in the front row, each wore a single white sequined glove in tribute to their brother. Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and Shaheen Jafargholi sang Jackson's songs, and John Mayer played guitar. Berry Gordy, Brooke Shields, and Smokey Robinson gave eulogies, while Queen Latifah read "We Had Him", a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou.[2]
The Reverend Al Sharpton received a standing ovation when he told Jackson's children, "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with."[3]
Toward the end, the family gathered on stage to offer the final eulogies. Jackson's then-11-year-old daughter, Paris, while unable to give her speech without crying, told the crowd, "I just want to say, ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine, and I just want to say I love him... so much."[4] Additionally, an emotional Marlon Jackson said, "Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone," and requested that Michael give their brother Brandon (Marlon's twin, who died shortly after birth) a hug for him.[5]
Background[edit]
The memorial service was organized by Jackson's concert promoter, AEG Live, and AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC (Kenneth Ehrlich, executive producer),[6] who gave away 17,500 free tickets to fans worldwide through an online lottery that attracted over 1.2 million applicants in 24 hours,[7] and over a half-billion hits to the webpage.[8] An estimated 750,000[9]
up to a million fans were expected to congregate outside Staples Center[10][11]
but due to Los Angeles' $530 million budget crisis, city and police officials urged fans to stay home.[12]
Streets and highway exits around the Staples Center were sealed off,[12] and 3,000 officers, the largest security effort planned since the 1984 Olympics,[12] were on duty at a cost of $1.4 million to the city.[13]
The motorcade for Jackson's casket was headed by two police motorcycle outriders, and the LA freeways were closed for the journey of approximately 11 miles (18 km) from Forest Lawn to the Staples Center.[14] The service was broadcast live around the world. The official United States viewership was extremely high taking into consideration that the service was unusually held on a workday (Tuesday) and that many people reported watching the service during work (which would not have been tabulated into viewing statistics).