The King Of Pop Laid To Rest
Michael Jackson took centre stage for the last time as he was finally laid to rest at the Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Friends and family of Michael Jackson paid their last respects to the singer known as the King of Pop at a funeral ceremony outside Los Angeles.
The ceremony started more than an hour late due to the late arrival of the singer's family, who eventually arrived in a motorcade of 31 vehicles. The Jackson brothers; Jermaine, Randy, Jackie, Tito, and Marlon acted as pallbearers as his gold-plated coffin was removed from a hearse.
Attendees of the funeral included comedian Chris Tucker, producer Berry Gordy and Lisa Marie Presley, Jackson's ex-wife. Speakers at the event included civil rights leader the Rev Al Sharpton, while soul singer Gladys Knight sang at the service.
In contrast to the highly profiled public memorial event staged at LA's Staples Centre, the King of Pop's funeral was very much a private affair. Whilst the Jackson family did allow a live video feed of guests arriving, the video feed was cut abruptly as a hearse carrying Jackson's body arrived. An airborne camera provided by LA broadcaster KTLA, however still continued to run. It showed a coffin covered in white flowers taken to the front of the congregation.
The ceremony programme contained pictures of the King of Pop alongside some of his quotes. The ceremony opened with words taken from Jackson's book Dancing The Dream: "If you enter the world knowing you are loved and leave the world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with." We at MOBO couldn’t agree more. Rest in perfect peace Michael Jackson!!
Written by Paida Fundira-Shava
