Michael Jackson's
memorial service was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, 12 days after he died on June 25. The service was broadcast live around the world, and was viewed by over ONE BILLION people world wide. It 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 family and close friends.
Jackson's closed, solid-bronze casket, plated with 14-karat gold and lined with blue velvet, was taken to the Staples Center in a motorcade via the Golden State and Harbor freeways, arriving just before 10:00 a.m. local time, where 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.
Jackson's brothers, sitting in the front row, each wore a single, white, sequined glove in tribute of their late brother. Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and Shaheen Jafargholi sang Jackson's songs, and John Mayer played guitar. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson gave moving eulogies, while Queen Latifah read, "We had him," a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou:
Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana’s Black Star Square In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England We are missing Michael But we do know we had him, and we are the world.
The Reverend Al Sharpton received a standing ovation when he told Jackson's children, "There wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. What was strange was what your daddy had to deal with." Toward the end, the family gathered on stage to offer the final eulogies. Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine, broke down as she told the crowd, "Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine ... I just wanted to say I love him so much."Additionally, Marlon Jackson said, "Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone."
memorial service was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, 12 days after he died on June 25. The service was broadcast live around the world, and was viewed by over ONE BILLION people world wide. It 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 family and close friends.Jackson's closed, solid-bronze casket, plated with 14-karat gold and lined with blue velvet, was taken to the Staples Center in a motorcade via the Golden State and Harbor freeways, arriving just before 10:00 a.m. local time, where 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.
Jackson's brothers, sitting in the front row, each wore a single, white, sequined glove in tribute of their late brother. Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and Shaheen Jafargholi sang Jackson's songs, and John Mayer played guitar. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson gave moving eulogies, while Queen Latifah read, "We had him," a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou:
Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana’s Black Star Square In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England We are missing Michael But we do know we had him, and we are the world.
The Reverend Al Sharpton received a standing ovation when he told Jackson's children, "There wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. What was strange was what your daddy had to deal with." Toward the end, the family gathered on stage to offer the final eulogies. Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine, broke down as she told the crowd, "Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine ... I just wanted to say I love him so much."Additionally, Marlon Jackson said, "Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone."
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