Los Angeles: Millions of fans across the globe commemorate Friday as the first death anniversary of the legendary pop star, Michael Jackson, whose death exactly a year ago changed the life of innumerable people and raised many unanswered questions.
Thousands of people are likely to gather at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California where the musician is at rest, and many, including Jackson's mother Katherine and three children, are expected at the family home in Gary, Indiana, where tributes will be paid.
Fans, reportedly, began arriving at the Los Angeles cemetery late Thursday ignoring police warnings about overnight camping, parking and vending banned; Park authorities intend to keep keen watch over the event.
London's Lyric Theatre has dedicated a monument to the star, who has been named as the highest selling artist in UK since his death, and Madame Tussauds put the Jackson’s wax figure on display for free on Thursday in honour of his fans.
Beverly Hilton, a posh Beverly Hills hotel in California, has organised a tribute, which Jackson family members are expected to attend, to the pop icon, ‘Forever Michael’ with tickets priced between 150 and 500 dollars.
At the theatre where Jackson and his brothers won a talent contest and were then signed by Motown Records, the Apollo Theatre in New York, a commemoration of is life is organised as 50 fans in Tokyo, who paid over a thousand dollars each, get to spend the night with the star’s possessions.
In India, singer Sonu Niigam announced he is working on a tribute song for Jackson with his brother Jermaine Jackson, which will be followed by a music video.
Inmates of the Cebu jail, who became famous over the Internet when filmed while dancing in 2007, are staging a version of Thriller to mark the anniversary.
The Internet too is witnessing frenzied activity with social networks Twitter and Facebook flooding with people remembering the 50-year-old Michael Jackson who died on June 25 last year from a drug overdose at a rented Los Angeles mansion.
His death outraged fans worldwide and Jackson’s physician was charged with involuntary manslaughter as it turned out that the pop star had been given a cocktail of powerful prescription drugs including the anesthetic propofol.