Thaindian News

Los Angeles is in lock-down mode as the clock ticks down to the funeral and memorial service for 80s King of Pop Michael Jackson.

While the funeral service will be a private affair limited to family and close friends, the dead entertainers memorial service is expected to be watched by crowds bigger than Elvis’ and Princess Diana’s combined.

About 75,000 turned out to Elvis Presley’s memorial in 1997 and 250,000 attended Princess Diana’s 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, easily eclipsing major world sporting events, while millions more are expected to watch a live internet stream.

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 Los Angeles police expecting between 250,000 and 700,000 fans to flood downtown Los Angeles where the public memorial is to take place.

From 6am PDT police closed off the area around the Staples Centre with concrete barricades, allowing only those with tickets and the requisite wristbands to enter.

Parking lots in the area raised their prices, some to as high as $30, while airports in Southern California saw a spike in bookings and passenger arrivals.

The memorial service will commence at 10am PDT with the Jackson family providing world-wide media organizations with access to the event.

Thaindian News will present a live, uninterrupted feed of the memorial service here from 10am PDT.