Brits 'barred' from Jacko memorial
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The clamour for tickets for Michael Jackson's public memorial has begun - but the singer's British fans will be left disappointed.
Only US residents with tickets secured through an online ballot will be allowed in to the Staples Centre in Los Angeles.
Other fans of the King of Pop will be able to watch Tuesday's event from their homes as organisers announced it will be broadcast around the world.
The stadium's website temporarily crashed within moments of AEG Live president and chief executive Tim Leiweke announcing the opening of registration for the draw.
He said 17,500 free tickets will be available in pairs for Jackson's fans - 11,000 of which will admit entrance to the Staples Centre itself with 6,500 places to watch on screens at the nearby Nokia theatre. Registration will end at 2am Sunday morning BST, with the 8,750 successful applicants drawn at random and then notified by email between 7pm Sunday to 4am Monday BST.
Mr Leiweke said: "First off, our thoughts and our prayers are with the family, all of the Jackson family, and in particular with Michael Jackson's fans.
"It is the family's wish to create a service and a celebration that all of Michael's fans around the world can be part of. Thus the family has made arrangements to provide a worldwide pool feed to every network for free. The family has also made available 17,500 tickets for Michael's fans to be part of this service."
No information was given about what the memorial service will involve or celebrities who might appear.
Jackson's legion of fans have been descending on Los Angeles since his sudden death at the age of 50.
City officials told the press conference they were encouraging people to stay away unless they had tickets for the memorial as strict checks would be in place.
Meanwhile, 30-second snippet of Michael Jackson rehearsing two days before his death has been released.
The clip is part of more than 100 hours of footage that could be turned into live albums, a movie and a pay-per-view special.
The material, along with possible insurance proceeds and ticket sales to memorabilia collectors, could help benefit Jackson's estate, burdened by an estimated 400 million US dollars (£244 million) in debt.
Randy Phillips, president and chief executive officer of concert promoter AEG Live, said "we could probably raise hundreds of millions of dollars just on the stuff we have worldwide".
The pop star, whose hits included, Thriller, Beat It and Bad, had been rehearsing for his 50-night residency at London's O2 arena.
The clip released showed Jackson dancing and singing to They Don't Really Care About Us on June 23 during a rehearsal at Staples Centre.
Jackson died on June 25 after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest.
Uri Geller, a friend of the singer, said the footage raised a "big question" about what prompted the star's dramatic demise.
"The question is: What happened from that point to the day that he died?" said Geller. "In the photographs I've seen, he looked in shape, he was smiling, he was happy. What happened? That's the big question."
Kevin Mazur, 48, the photographer who captured some of Jackson's final moments on camera at the rehearsals, said the star appeared to be back to his best and had a "incredible energy".
Mr Mazur, co-founder of WireImage, told the Daily Mirror: "When he hit that stage, everyone was just mesmerised."
The photographer said the singer was happy and joking with the dancers as he rehearsed.
He told the newspaper that Jackson performed his set for 90 minutes until nearly midnight on June 23.
"He was totally there - 100% there in fact," said Mr Mazur. "You would never suspect this would have ever happened - especially after his performance on stage."
AEG Live also announced that the Staples Centre where Jackson's last rehearsals took place will be the venue for a public memorial for the star on Tuesday.
It emerged on Thursday that America's anti-drugs agency had launched an investigation into Jackson's death.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was called in by Los Angeles police to assist as they probe allegations the star was on powerful painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants, sources close to the investigation said.
The agency has vast experience in dealing with drug abuse and could evaluate the potential role of illegal drug manufacturers known as pill mills.
Jermaine Jackson said he would be "hurt" if toxicology reports showed his brother had abused prescription drugs.
He told NBC he did not know of any drug abuse by the 50-year-old.
But he added: "In this business, the pressure and things that you go through, you never know what one turns to."
Jermaine said he believed Neverland - the singer's vast estate in Santa Barbara, California - should be Jackson's final resting place.
More details have emerged regarding what is believed to be the singer's last will.
The seven-year-old document was filed in an LA court, leaving Jackson's entire estate to a family trust and naming his mother and his three children as beneficiaries.
Jackson's estate was estimated to be worth 306 million dollars (£187 million) at the time the will was written, but tougher economic times for the singer since means his fortune is likely to have been considerably less when he died.
Joe Jackson, Michael's father, was not named in the will and nor was Ms Rowe.
Meanwhile, a US judge delayed a guardianship hearing for Jackson's children until July 13.
The ruling was made at the request of lawyers acting for the singer's mother and his ex-wife, Deborah Rowe. It had been due to take place on Monday.
Lawyer Eric M. George said Ms Rowe had not reached a final decision on whether to seek custody of the two children she had with Jackson.
Jackson's mother, Katherine, will retain temporary guardianship of the children until the hearing.