Thaindian News

Live coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial service has began from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, with an audience of several billion expected to tune in to the event.

Industry analysts predict the total world-wide audience for the event will exceed those for either Elvis’ or Diana, Princes of Wales’ combined.

About 75,000 turned out to Elvis Presley’s memorial in 1997 and 250,000 attended the Princess of Wales’ service in 1997. The BBC estimated a further 2.5 billion people watched the service on television.

These figures are expected to be dwarfed by Jackson’s memorial, with up to one billion expected to watch the event live on television and millions more expected to watch the live internet stream including the one in the media player window below.

Movie theaters across America have announced special screenings of the event, while Apple has announced they will stream the event to iPhone owners.

A massive security operation has been in place since the early hours of Tuesday morning, with police expecting between 250,000 and 700,000 fans to flood downtown Los Angeles where the public memorial is to take place.

An additional 1,400 police have been rostered on for the service and city blocks surrounding the venue have been sealed off with concrete barricades to prevent people without tickets and the requisite wristbands from entering the area.

In a surprise last minute announcement, the Jackson family said the body of the dead 80s King of Pop will be transported from the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills to the Staples Centre and be displayed on-stage throughout the service.

Meanwhile, US media citing unidentified law enforcement sources, say investigators found the powerful sedative Propofol, also known as Diprivan, among a “mini-pharmacy” at Jackson’s home.

Last week as the Los Angeles Police Department enlisted the support of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in the investigation.

Propofol is commonly used in hospitals to induce unconsciousness in patients before major surgery.

Jackson’s mysterious death from an apparent cardiac arrest at the age of 50 on June 25 sent shockwaves rippling around the world, triggering a global avalanche of tributes and grief.

Jackson sold more than 750 million albums during a glittering four-decade career that was ultimately overshadowed by repeated allegations of child abuse, his startling physical transformation and eccentric behavior.