Michael Jackson's funeral

LOS ANGELES: The website set up for Michael Jackson’s fans to register for the Tuesday memorial service received more than 500 million hits
within an hour of its launch, the organizers said. ( Watch )

The website www.staplescenter.com, which was launched on Friday, received more than 500 million hits as Jackson’s fans rushed to register for the tickets to the July 7 event at Los Angeles Staples Center.

The website was set up to prevent duplicate registrations from being accepted for the massive ceremony, a news release from the Jackson family said. The 17,500 tickets will be distributed for the event and a draw will determine the names of the attendees, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The draw will select 8,750 names, and those people will receive two tickets each and wristbands on Monday. The 11,000 tickets will be for seats at Staples Center and 6,500 for seats at Nokia Theatre, where the live feed will be broadcast.

Meanwhile, the city officials have asked Michael Jackson’s fans to avoid coming to the Staples Centre for Tuesday’s memorial unless they have the tickets. The city officials are bracing up for a major security drive to handle a massive crowd as thousands of Jackson devotees are expected to descend on the Staples Centre despite the organiser’s announcement that only people with a ticket will be allowed inside the venue.

The law enforcement agencies are expecting that anywhere from 250,000 to 700,000 people may try to reach the venue for the Tuesday memorial.

The service will be live-streamed on television and on the Internet, and there will be no funeral procession, AEG, the owner of the Staples Centre said.

Staples Center Michael Jackson Tickets

When the news of Michael Jackson Memorial and Funeral Service plans became public, the website of the venue for the occasion got more than 500 million hits.

Unsurprisingly, the Staples Center website crashed and the organization had to buy a new server to host the website. (I wish that happens to my webhost someday!).

More than a million fans from all corners of the world have applied for 17,500 free tickets to Michael Jackson’s public memorial and funeral service which is happening coming Tuesday at the famous Staples Center in LA. There is going to be paramount security and LAPD have a tough job ahead for them.

The life, times, and music of the personality whom I endearingly call Whacko Jacko died of sudden cardiac arrest last week and his family and friends are going to be in full force to honor his legacy.

Officials unveiled an ambitious online lottery that will allow fans to attend either the televised service at the arena or watch the proceedings on a big screen at the nearby Nokia Theater.

“You might want to consider watching this from the comfort of your own home,” said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who is doubling as the city’s acting mayor. That’s a fine advice Sir.