Michael Jackson memorial set for Tuesday

Fri, Jul 3, 2009    to del.icio.us

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The question of when and where a public memorial service will be held for Michael Jackson has finally been answered. But how city officials will handle the likelihood of a massive crowd remains to be settled.

A public memorial for the late singer has been set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, according to a press release from the office of the Jackson family's publicist.

Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, which owns the Staples Center and was Jackson's promoter, said tickets would be free. He was not sure how they would be distributed.

Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said plans for the memorial are clearly moving forward, but he wished there had been more time to work out the logistics for such a huge event.

"If you can imagine 100,000 people show up and you have 20,000 capacity (at the Staples Center), there is not sufficient room. Now you have a crowd-control problem," he said. With the July Fourth holiday weekend "it's the worst time ... to work something out." He also said he's concerned about the cost of police overtime for the cash-strapped city.

Jackson's brother Jermaine told Larry King during Thursday's broadcast of CNN's "Larry King Live," that there will be a private ceremony for family and some special guests before the public memorial, according to show transcripts.