№ 52 · MOMENT
Goodbye — Watched by 2.5 Billion
Memorial Service, Staples Center, Los Angeles — July 7, 2009
MICHAEL JACKSON
The King of Pop
★ LEGENDARY
← MICHAEL JACKSON
CARD N° 52 · MOMENT · ★ LEGENDARY
Goodbye — Watched by 2.5 Billion
Memorial Service, Staples Center, Los Angeles — July 7, 2009
№ 52 MOMENT
Goodbye — Watched by 2.5 Billion
Michael's public memorial at Los Angeles' Staples Center on July 7, 2009 — twelve days after his death — was broadcast in over 200 countries. An estimated 2.5 to 3 billion people watched live, making it the single most-viewed broadcast event in human history. His daughter Paris, age eleven, spoke for ninety seconds at the end. It was her first public appearance ever.
▶ THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson Memorial — Paris Jackson's Goodbye, Staples Center (July 7, 2009)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK5jHmKxLpA
MICHAEL JACKSON · B·SIDE · VOL.I
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THE FACT
Michael's public memorial at Los Angeles' Staples Center on July 7, 2009 — twelve days after his death — was broadcast in over 200 countries. An estimated 2.5 to 3 billion people watched live, making it the single most-viewed broadcast event in human history. His daughter Paris, age eleven, spoke for ninety seconds at the end. It was her first public appearance ever.
WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW
1.6 million people applied online for the 17,500 free seats in the arena; tickets were distributed by random lottery. Outside, 7,000 fans gathered in the street, and an estimated 600,000 lined the funeral procession route from the Forum to Staples Center earlier that morning. The two-and-a-half-hour service was orchestrated by Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy, and the Reverend Lucious Smith. Performers included Stevie Wonder (singing Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer), Mariah Carey, John Mayer, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, and a final closing performance of We Are the World featuring everyone present. Lionel Richie. Magic Johnson, Brooke Shields and Kobe Bryant delivered eulogies. The service ended with Paris Jackson, microphone in hand, saying: 'I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him so much.' She collapsed into the arms of her aunt Janet. CNN reported the largest streaming-video event in internet history; the BBC live broadcast was watched by 11.4 million in the UK alone. Earlier the same morning, the casket was loaded into a hearse at the Forum following a private family service. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery on September 3, 2009 — what would have been the second night of his This Is It residency.
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THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson Memorial — Paris Jackson's Goodbye, Staples Center (July 7, 2009) — The closing 90 seconds — his daughter's first ever public appearance.