LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Michael Jackson's family and close friends held a private service at a Los Angeles cemetery on Tuesday as fans crowded into the city's downtown area for a star-packed public memorial to the "King of Pop."
Singers Mariah Carey, Usher and Jennifer Hudson will mix with R&B veterans Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder while sports stars like Kobe Bryant and other celebrities were expected at the public farewell to the singer who died suddenly on June 25.
A fleet of black vehicles took Jackson's parents and siblings to the cemetery. The gold-trimmed casket was later carried off in a hearse to the Staples Center sports arena where the memorial show was being held.
Some 18,000 fans and friends have tickets for the Staples Center event and a nearby, overflow theater for a two-hour ceremony.
Jackson, 50, died after suffering cardiac arrest in his rented Los Angeles mansion during rehearsals for a 50-show series of comebackconcerts in London after a fallow period in his singing career.
Police estimate more than 250,000 people would gather outside the arena to say farewell to the "Thriller" singer and one-time member of Motown legends the Jackson 5, who was 50 years-old when he died.
Outside the Staples Center, fans crowded the sidewalks and vendors sold King of Pop t-shirts for $10, as well as posters, necklaces and white sequined gloves that became Jackson's trademark.
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