Worldwide farewell to Jackson

Tue Jul 7, 4:14 pm ET
PARIS (AFP) – Millions of Michael Jackson fans staged their own worldwide farewell to their idol Tuesday, organising ceremonies to mark his funeral and gathering before giant screens to watch the Los Angeles tribute to the King of Pop.

With many still refusing to believe that 50-year-old Jackson has died, the grief has taken Jackson-mania to new heights with the singer on top of album charts around the world.

In the Asia-Pacific region, an army of Jackson fans stayed up all night to watch the concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles where tributes from friends and associates were punctuated by performances from Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Hudson.

Television channels in nearly every major country showed the event live because of its importance.

US President Barack Obama even weighed in during an official trip in Russia, saying Jackson was "one of the greatest entertainers of our generation."

"I think like Elvis, like (Frank) Sinatra, like the Beatles, he became a core part of our culture," Obama told CNN, acknowledging the "tragedy" that was a part of the singer's life.

"His extraordinary talent and his music was matched with a big dose of tragedy, and difficulty in his private life," Obama said. "I don't think we can ignore that, but it's important for us to affirm what was best in him."

Some of Jackson's closest friends including Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor and Quincy Jones, skipped the public memorial in Los Angeles.

Ross, who was named in Jackson's will as an alternative guardian for his children should his mother die or be unable to care for them, sent a message, saying she had "decided to pause and be silent. This feels right for me."

Former South African president Nelson Mandela said in a message, "Michael was a giant and a legend in the music industry.

"And we mourn with the millions of fans worldwide," said Mandela's message, read out by singer Smokey Robinson.

"We had great admiration for his talent and that he was able to triumph over tragedy on so many occasions in his life," Mandela added, saying Jackson had become like a member of the Mandela family.

Even before Jackson's shimmering gold casket made it to downtown Los Angeles, millions of fans worldwide were watching and mourning online.

Messages in an array of languages were being fired off to Jackson memorial forums at Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and online haunts where video or news of the event were being shared in an unprecedented global farewell.

Facebook said that its users were at times firing off 6,000 comments per minute.

Nearly half a million Jackson memories were posted at an official Sony Music website in tribute to the King of Pop before the briefly delayed concert got underway.

"Rest in peace now Michael... I'm glad you went out a record breaker, a hero, and a fantastic performer the world will never be the same without," said a message signed with the name James Cleave.

Criticism of Jackson or the attention being given his death were quickly shot down with scoldings such as "If you have nothing good to say, stay off the website."

Jackson's birthplace of Gary, Indiana mourned their favorite son with tributes, tears and gatherings large and small.

A restaurant across the street from the baseball stadium where city leaders will host their own memorial Friday invited residents to watch coverage of the official service some 2,000 miles away in Los Angeles.

"Michael Jackson is number one, because he broke all the barriers for music," said Ebony Hodge, 23, a waitress at Bennigan's restaurant.

About 500 people gathered to watch the Los Angeles tribute on the big screen outside London's O2 Arena, where Jackson was due to perform 50 sell-out shows starting next week, a spokeswoman for the venue said.

The 17,000 capacity O2 Arena in the German capital, Berlin, was also opened up to allow the public to watch the memorial service.

In Tokyo, hundreds of fans flocked to Tower Records in the Shibuya shopping district to watch free viewings of Jackson's videos while in Hong Kong, thousands of fans gathered at a shopping mall to say goodbye.

In the Australian city of Melbourne fans braved icy pre-dawn temperatures to watch the Jackson memorial on a giant television screen set up in Federation Square.

In the Chilean capital Santiago the presidential guard changed its usual military tunes during the Changing the Guard ceremony to Jackson's 1985 hit for the children of Africa "We are the world."

Jackson's French fan clubs urged followers across the country to light a candle for Jackson when the funeral is held.

Tributes to Jackson have been written by music fans outside many music stores around the globe. Jackson's "Thriller" album is the biggest selling disc of all time and his music has again become wildly popular because of his death.

"Thriller", "Off The Wall" and Jackson's greatest hits albums occupy five of the top 10 spots in the BBC British album charts. Jackson also tops the Billboard album charts in the United States and top selling lists in countries around the world.