500M Hits for Jackson Memorial Tix
Fans May Register Online for Random Drawing of 17,500 Free Tickets; Video of Event To Be Streamed Worldwide
-
Michael Jackson rehearsing his conert tour at the Staples Center in Los Angeles just days before his death. (AP/Kevin Mazur, AEG/Getty Images)
-
Photo Essay Who's that with M.J.? A look at some of the stars with whom he's shared the stage.
-
Photo Essay Jackson Tribute at the Apollo Fans gather to remember the "King of Pop" at the theater where he and the Jackson 5 won "Amateur Night" in 1969
A Web site where fans of singer Michael Jackson were invited to register for a random drawing of 17,500 tickets to his memorial celebration was inundated today, shortly after the drawing was announced.
The PR firm Sachs & Associates announced that within the first hour-and-a-half of allowing fans to sign up for the drawing, the Web site received 500,000,000 hits, averaging 120,000 per second.
Duplicate registrations are not allowed, so those seeking a chance are being asked to log on only once. Meanwhile, an additional server has been added to accommodate the volume of traffic.
The random drawing will be held Sunday to award 17,500 free tickets to fans.
As of 8:30 p.m. EDT, there were 524,330 registrants for the service.
AEG has announced that since the registration process was initiated this morning, additional legal terms have been incorporated into the conditions of entry to allow non-U.S. residents the opportunity to register for the random ticket drawing.
The tickets and wristbands will gain the bearer admittance to the Staples Center or to the neighboring Nokia Theatre where the event (beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7) will be simulcast.
No tickets to the event will be sold.
CBS News correspondent Peter King said organizers are saying anyone who doesn’t have a ticket and a wristband, or a media credential, will not be allowed anywhere near the event on Tuesday. Streets around the Staples Center will be blocked to prevent non-ticketholders from gaining access to the area.
Those who wish to register for a chance to receive a pair of tickets are being directed to the staplescenter.com Web site to register, beginning now and continuing through Saturday, July 4, at 6:00 p.m. P.T.
Only one entry per individual will be accepted. The offer is open to U.S. residents only.
On Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. P.T., 8,750 names will be drawn at random by computer and contacted by e-mail to receive a code with which they will obtain a pair of tickets and wristbands from Ticketmaster.
There will be no distribution of tickets at the Staples Center or at L.A. Live.
In an effort to curb the crowd, the memorial will not be shown on the outdoor plaza Jumbotrons, and there will not be a funeral procession, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy. The cash-strapped city of Los Angeles will likely foot the bill for a massive police presence.
The Jackson Family also announced that a worldwide pool feed of Tuesday's memorial celebration at the Staples Center for the late Michael Jackson will be provided free to all media and for streaming on the Internet.
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The secrets of tennis legend 




- 1
- 2
- next
See all 35 Comments500 million visitors would have been about one third of the 1,4 billion people in the world with internet access...
...About 8% of the world population...
...Within an hour and a half...
Seriously. I don't care how popular Michael Jackson was, no website would EVER get that kind of traffic. Simply not possible.
99,9% of these hits are most certainly automatically made by bots that generating several random usernames a second, not by actual humans. Some people are spamming that website and making a lot of money selling the tickets they get a hold of to a juicy price on the black market. That's the only logical explaination.
Good PR stunt though. Well done Sachs & Associate.
As for as the drugs go, how many of you abuse prescription drugs? How many of you do and refuse to admit it. He admitted it and tried getting help. I imagine being addicted is very hard to overcome. I say imagine as I have never done drugs a day in my life.
Regardless of anything he was an awesome artist!!! His music is what he should be remembered for. My 16 year old son is named Michael and I named him after MJ!! I grew up with his music and love every song. Watching him perform is incredible. I had always wanted to see him in concert before I died but now I wont get too.
He is loved by millions all over the world. What other musician had this much popularity. Not even Elvis! Someone said though, what do MJ and Elvis have to do with each other? They both had a tragic death, they both have Lisa Marie in common, and they both are great artists.
And for anyone's info! I am a 40 year old white, educated, professional female. Michael affected all races, all religions, all ages, all walks of life... Fans in every part of the world!!
He is the best music artist there is. I say "is" because his music will live on forever!!! I love you MJ!!! My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family!! Remember the good! Remember the music! Rest in Peace King of Pop! You are loved by billions from every corner of this earth!! The coverage, the sales in your music (some 25 years later at that)!!!, the outpouring of people at the Apollo, in L.A. for the memorial, for many other tributes all around the world prove just how much!!!!
Kim (Virginia, U.S.)
Michael RIP.
People are dying for their freedom in Iran, our soldiers are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq, our state governments are financially imploding, and ALL that the media cares about is this idiot?!?!
To ALL news organizations: Get a grip, grow up, and start reporting on the stuff that ACTUALLY MATTERS!!
The PR firm Sachs & Associates announced that within the first hour-and-a-half of allowing fans to sign up for the drawing, the Web site received 500,000,000 hits, averaging 120, 000 per second"
Impossible. The internet has only a 1 billion global audience. Incompetent reportage, at best. Self-serving nonsense from Sachs, and the same careful CBS vetting that led to the Rather-gate scandal.
A disservice to journalism.
What the hell does Elvis have to do with Jackson? This was a completely different time and place plus your info is way off.He will burn for his crimes.
Michael Jackson crossed color lines that no entertainer of his time has ever done.
Your right on that! He changed from black to white!
How many US Presidents have died before MJ came along ??? NONE OF THEIR CELEBRATIONS OF THEIR MEMORIES COMES CLOSE TO THE LEVEL OF MICHAEL JACKSONS ? He found some area of the human brain and used it to become SUPER FAMOUS......??? How, and what, did he do to accomplish this ?? Oh, did I mention he came from the stock of people who were of the last great slave trade !?!? And still, more popular than ANY of the US Presidents before him....... scientists will be studying this guy for a "long time to come" ..... !!!!
-------
But they should have, and could have had his memorial in the Los Angeles Coliseum..... 500 Million hits.... and its still mid-day Friday....
Dr. King? "White" people hated him, as evidenced by the fact that one of them killed him, so now even though your comment about Jackson's ethnic heritage shows clearly that even in this modern age you still oppose everything Dr. King stood for and died for, you dare invoke his name? You are not worthy of typing his name, let alone use it in your spew.
Einstein? Again, there was no internet, even television was not world-wide in scope at that time, and even you cannot seem to understand that his work, like Jackson's, will live on in history.
As for how he became super-famous, he did it by combining innovative dance with the musical talents of America's most gifted composers and producers, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder.
Getting back to his ethnic heritage, that bit of irrelevant info must really be at the core of what has moved you to such hostility, I would pity you, except that such people are not worth it.
As far as Michael Jackson goes, he was a victim of his own fame. Greedy parents who told their kids to lie to become millionaires and the media preoccupation with Jackson. The writing is on the wall...
Aww wassa matter, widdle neo can't handle a world-wide outpouring of celebration for the cultural contributions of a "Bwack" man? Are we jeawous?
Guess what, when most of the world says one thing, and you say the opposite, you are the one in the wrong.
In this case the world's priorities are correct, I'll take any celebration of dance and music over the celebration of death and neo intolerance any and every day.
While we're watching this mess is California Obama, Peolsi and the rest of the left wing will have driven this country off the cliff...
This too should be headline news!
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 35 Comments