Michael Jackson: 1.6 million apply for 17,500 memorial service tickets

A total of 1.6 million people have entered the global lottery for 17,500 tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service.

The lottery has now closed and applications were received at a rate of around 50,000 per hour, or more than 800 per minute. That equates to more than 13 applications per second.

There are fears touts may have used multiple e-mail addresses to register in the hope of re-selling the free tickets for huge sums.

Officials in Los Angeles have warned devotees of the "King of Pop" who do not get tickets to stay away from the city amid fears it will be swamped.

However, police are still preparing for anything up to 700,000 people turning up without tickets and trying to reach the venue.

The service is being held at the Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles. Large barricades have been erected around the arena to stop fans trying to storm the building.

Only 11,000 of the available tickets are for the service itself. The other 6,500 are for the Nokia Theatre nextdoor where fans will watch on three large screens.

A total of 8,750 winners will each receive two tickets. They will be informed on Sunday by email how to collect them.

The service will be broadcast live on television and the internet and is expected to attract a global audience of hundreds of millions.

telegraph.co.uk