№ 51 · PERFORMANCE
This Is It — Sold Out in Four Hours
O2 Arena London residency announced, March 5, 2009
MICHAEL JACKSON
The King of Pop
★ LEGENDARY
← MICHAEL JACKSON
CARD N° 51 · PERFORMANCE · ★ LEGENDARY
This Is It — Sold Out in Four Hours
O2 Arena London residency announced, March 5, 2009
№ 51 PERFORMANCE
This Is It — Sold Out in Four Hours
On March 5, 2009, Michael walked onto the stage at London's O2 Arena and announced a 50-show concert residency called This Is It — his first major tour in twelve years. All 50 dates sold out in under four hours. One million tickets were claimed by 1.6 million fans, the largest concert-residency demand in history.
▶ THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson — This Is It Announcement, O2 London (March 5, 2009)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4dHGuS-VLk
MICHAEL JACKSON · B·SIDE · VOL.I
HOVER TO FLIP
THE FACT
On March 5, 2009, Michael walked onto the stage at London's O2 Arena and announced a 50-show concert residency called This Is It — his first major tour in twelve years. All 50 dates sold out in under four hours. One million tickets were claimed by 1.6 million fans, the largest concert-residency demand in history.
WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW
Promoter AEG Live had been negotiating with Michael for two years. The initial plan was a 10-show residency at the O2. Within hours of tickets going on sale, demand was so overwhelming that AEG extended the run first to 30, then to 50 dates — covering the O2 nightly from July 2009 through March 2010. Production design was Michael's most ambitious ever: a six-minute opening film projected on 23,000 LED panels, a 4D 'thriller cemetery' sequence with 3D glasses, a live aerial trapeze act suspended above the audience, a real motorcycle stunt rider weaving between dancers during They Don't Care About Us, and an immersive Smooth Criminal sequence using newly-built anti-gravity floor mechanics. Director Kenny Ortega rehearsed the production at the Forum and Staples Center in Los Angeles for four months. Michael died June 25, 2009 — two weeks before the first show. The rehearsal footage was assembled into the 2009 documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It, which grossed $261 million worldwide on a $60 million budget and became the highest-grossing concert film in history at the time of release. AEG had to refund roughly $80 million in ticket sales; insurance covered most of the production loss.
▶
THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson — This Is It Announcement, O2 London (March 5, 2009) — The press conference that sold out a million tickets in four hours.