MJ Memorial Crowds Smaller Than Anticipated
July 9, 2009 by Becky Scott
Filed under Marketing
With more than a half million fans eagerly entering a lottery for tickets to Michael Jackson’s memorial, Los Angeles braced itself for an onslaught of mourners. The Staples Center and local police prepared for the worst, closing freeways and pulling every available officer for crowd control.
Image: Zuma Press
It turns out preparations were a little over the top. The Los Angeles police deployed the largest number of officers since the 1984 Olympics, according to the LA Times . All over the blogosphere, Los Angelinos are complaining about the massive expense incurred during the memorial. Instead of an anticipated million people, fewer than one thousand actually showed up to stand in vigil outside of Staples Center.
Promoters and police insisted that no one would get into Staples Center without a ticket, and strongly encouraged people to stay home. It must have worked. The assistant police chief reported that there were no arrests, traffic accidents, or uses of force required. And memorial attendees complimented the city on such an orderly affair.
What about the expense? Many police officers worked long hours to prepare for the event, and reports indicated that much of it was overtime. And who paid for all that? Why the good citizens of Los Angeles, of course.
One article I saw actually quoted someone from the event asking for donations to cover the huge expense, making sure to note that any donations would be tax deductible. Gee, I wonder if anyone will take them up on their offer?
