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Michael Jackson funeral to be a zoo; just ask the elephants; Bubbles the chimp not invited (UPDATED)
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This photo from 2008 shows the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey circus elephants
through the streets of Los Angeles. (Stefano Paltera/AP)
It seems fitting that a parade of elephants will precede Michael Jackson's public memorial service at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Though not a part of the official service --- the elephants' stroll had been planned long ago as part of the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus that will be performing at the Staples Center later this month --- the pachyderm parade is somehow not-so-strange.
In 1992, Jackson reportedly stated that he wanted his funeral to be "the greatest show on earth...with fireworks and everything."
We're not sure if there's going to be any pyrothecnics at the memorial service on Tuesday, but there will be plenty of celebrity firepower: Mariah Carey and Lionel Richie will perform at the 90-minute service, and the confirmed guest list includes Stevie Wonder, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, Magic Johnson, Brooke Shields, Smokey Robinson, Barry Gordy, and Martin Luther King III. (Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two eldest children decided not to attend.)
All the major television networks and numerous cable channels are gearing up to provide live coverage of the event. A fan website called MichaelJacksonFuneral.org has sprung up, declaring that the Jackson family will have a private ceremony at Forest Lawn Cemetery at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, followed by the public memorial service at the Staples Center at 10 a.m.
Should you not have a television, or find yourself wanting to share the experience with others, the event will be shown live at select movie theaters across the country, including at the landmark Mann Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California.
And if you are not one of the 11,000 fans who scored tickets to the event via an online lottery, stay away from downtown Los Angeles and the Staples Center. It's going to be a zoo --- even if Bubbles the chimp wasn't invited, and none of Jackson's exotic pets (all of whom were re-homed long ago) will be there.
At least one British newspaper is speculating that the memorial service for Jackson "could top even Princess Diana's send-off."
UPDATE: It is being reported that Michael Jackson's final resting place has yet to be determined, and will not be Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills.
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