Last Updated: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Sensibility Reigns For King Of Pop Farewell Updated: Friday, July 03, 2009 A confirmation notice for two of the 17,500 free tickets to the Michael Jackson memorial ceremony in Los Angeles. Note: The confirmation page gives the date of the event as July 6. The correct date is July 7. Photo: CMS c 2007. A much anticipated news conference about the public farewell ceremony to Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop” took place late this morning in Los Angeles. Representatives from the city, the Staples Center/Nokia Theater and the Jackson family, presented what appears to be a sensible plan for paying last respects to the legendary artist, who died June 25. The official announcements were in contrast to the reckless unofficial memorial plans that had surfaced earlier in the week. The news conference outlined plans for both the private and public aspects of the much anticipated and rumored final ceremonies. It was announced that on Tuesday, July 7, at the Staples Center and the nearby Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles would host public memorial services for the Jackson family, dignitaries and as many as 17,500 people lucky enough to win free lottery tickets to one of the two venues. Both venues are owned by AEG, the promoter of the ill-fated Michael Jackson 2009 tour. The Nokia Theatre audience will watch the Staples Center ceremony via live video feed. It was announced that the burial of Michael Jackson at Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuaries in Los Angeles will be private. The procession to the cemetery will not be a public event, either. That is, neither will an official parade route be designated nor a call for the public to line the route during the procession. City officials also announced that while a memorial service will be presented at the Staples Center and Nokia Theater, it will only be for those who win free lottery tickets to the ceremony. No outdoor projection screens or public standing room areas will be offered at or near the venues. In fact, street access to the venues will blocked to non-ticketed or non-credentialed people on Tuesday, if not before that day. The most exciting news for Michael Jackson fans---well, at least 17,500 of them---is the offer for free tickets to the memorial service. Applications for the free tickets are now available being at the (A HREF="//www.staples.com">Staples Center and Nokia Theater websites. This Internet lottery will remain open until tomorrow at 6 PM Pacific Time. The process of randomly selected winners will begin at the time of the lottery's closure. Each winner will receive two tickets and information about attending the ceremony. The other exciting news for fans, and the general public, is the announcement that the Michael Jackson memorial service will be broadcast live around the world (via TV, the Internet and radio). Consult your local TV or Internet sites for more information. All of these news conference announcements make crowd safety sense and represent sound crowd management planning. If carried out as planned---along with other necessary precautionary procedures---organizers will guarantee the final memories of Michael Jackson’s tragic death are positive and fitting of his stature. That said, there are still crowd safety and security issues to be addressed. Organizers and staff, along with Los Angeles police and fire, must make sure that the type of crowd disorders that developed during the Lakers festivities do not occur. Those fixes, should not be a problem. Some have already been addressed. Here are some crowd management techniques recommended by Crowd Management Strategies: - Effective signage (and public announcements) to help attendees enter and exit the Staples Center and the Nokia Theater - The use of multiple public entrances to reduce lines and public anxiety at the venues - Use only reserved seating for the memorial service, rather than general admission. General admission tickets, in such circumstances can cause a dangerous and injurious competition for seating among ticketholders. This was the situation observed at the Lakers victory ceremony at the Los Angeles Coliseum - Provide staffing sufficient to easily maintain decorum and to assist first aid responders and police, if necessary - Include in the promised email to lottery ticket winners information about required ID documents; instructions and maps to the venues; parking lot locations; and, items ticketholders should bring---or not take with them. For example, if cameras are to be allowed, organizers should describe the type of cameras---compact, fixed lens, no flash, etc. [ home ][ crowdcafe ][ new ][ crowdshop ][ contact ] Crowd Management Strategies © 1997 - 2006. All rights reserved. Crowdsafe is a registered trademark of Crowd Management Strategies © 2006.