Money Matters, Simplified.
Los Angeles security tightens for Jackson’s memorial service
by Camilla Abad - July 4, 2009 - comments
The Staples Center in Los Angeles will be the site of Michael Jackson's memorial service set on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Los Angeles, July 4: Los Angeles officials are facing a possible crowd control problem during Michael Jackson’s memorial service set on Tuesday morning. Only 17,500 tickets will be given away for the service to be held at Staples Center, probably leading to a huge crowd of Jackson’s fans around the area.
On Friday, a lottery was put up at www.staplescenter.com to determine the people who will get the chance to attend Jackson’s memorial service. Fans needed to register at the website and random people were chosen as winners of the memorial service tickets.
Due to the large number of people who logged on to win the much-coveted Jackson memorial service tickets, the website’s server crashed down on Friday morning. There are more than 500,000 people who have registered for the lottery whose deadline is Saturday at 6 p.m. PDT.
The privileged
The ticket winners will be contacted from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday and will be instructed on where to go to get tickets and wristbands on Monday. 11,000 ticket winners will have seats at the Staples Center while the remaining 6,500 will have seats at the Nokia Theater where the memorial service will be televised on a big screen.
However, there may still be some people who will insist on getting to the venue or crowding the area outside Staples Center despite not winning any tickets. This is a likely scenario which poses a big problem for LA officials.
Tight security
Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger clearly stated that, "You must have a ticket to be admitted to the venue. There's no way to get to this venue if you don't have a ticket."
To discourage crowds from forming near the venue, officials revealed that no funeral procession will take place and that only people with tickets and wristbands, the media, and residents will be allowed in the restricted area. Boundaries will be placed on Flower Street, Olympic Boulevard, Pico Boulevard and Blaine Street.
It is estimated that more than 1,400 officials from the Los Angeles Police Department will be deployed on Monday and Tuesday for Michael Jackson’s memorial service.