Michael Forever – The Tribute Concert was a music benefit concert which was held on 8 October 2011 at the 74,500 seater

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The concert was dedicated to American entertainer Michael Jackson, who died on 25 June 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest, and celebrated the 40th anniversary of his solo career. The concert helped to raise awareness and funds for AIDS Project Los Angeles and The Prince's Trust.

Background

The event was already in "advanced stages" in April 2011, when it was presented to the majority of the Jackson family. Katherine Jackson said "Michael gave his entire life to the world through his love, his music and his devotion to healing the planet. I am positive that this event will be an event great enough in scale, talent and imagination to form a worthy celebration of Michael's life."

Production and broadcasters

The concert was organised by Global Live Events

LLP A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is not ...

, formed by film producers Michael Henry and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Chris Hunt, and US CEO Eric Bute. It was expected that the concert would be broadcast throughout the world to 30 countries in 2D and 3D formats. However, this was later cancelled due to copyright issues.

Ticket pricing and ticket sales

Tickets were priced from £55. Standard seats cost £87, with a restricted view at £55. Standard middle and upper-tier tickets cost £175 and £137 respectively and the more restricted standing tickets were sold at £97. The best seats in the middle tier were priced at £240 each, while the best standing tickets cost £195. Student tickets were available from £25. Chris Hunt of Global Live Events confirmed before the event that the stadium's capacity had been reduced down from 75,000 to 50,000, with only 40,000 tickets having been sold.

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

also confirmed that some council staff and councillors were sent e-mails by the Millennium Stadium offering them "a number of free tickets" to the event. A Cardiff Council spokesperson confirmed that they did not know how many free tickets were available, but they were not offered to all council staff.

Support

The event was organised by Global Live Events and had the support of Jackson's mother Katherine Jackson, his sister La Toya and his brothers

Tito Tito may refer to: People Mononyms * Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman * Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...

Marlon Marlon is a masculine given name. According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', the popularity of Marlon Brando led to general awareness of the name (his father was also named Marlon), though the origin of the name is not known. Speculatio ...

and Jackie, but not that of his other brothers

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

and Jermaine, his other sister Janet, several relatives, the official Michael Jackson Fan Club or even the singer's executors, as they claimed the concert would distract from the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr.

Conrad Murray Conrad Robert Murray (born February 19, 1953) is a Grenadian former cardiologist who was the personal physician of Michael Jackson at the time of his death in 2009. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for improperly administeri ...

, Jackson's former doctor. Randy and Jermaine issued the following statement in opposition to the event:

While we wholeheartedly support the spirit of a tribute that honours our brother, we find it impossible to support an event that is due to take place during the criminal trial surrounding Michael's death. As everyone knows, those proceedings commence 20 September, and this Michael Forever concert takes place in Cardiff, Wales, on 8 October. In light of this, we feel it is inappropriate to be involved with such an ill-timed event and its promoter, Global Live. Furthermore, the decision to proceed with this concert disrespects opinions and wishes expressed in the strongest terms to Global Live during conversations in April when this event was presented to the majority of the family as an idea already in its advanced stages. There will come a time and place for an amazing and deserving tribute to Michael. But we feel that the most important tribute we can give to our brother at this time is to seek justice in his name.

The Michael Jackson Fan Club agreed with the two brothers, issuing a similar statement:

"We share their concerns that this concert is taking place at a most inappropriate time when everyone's care and attention should be focused on the matter of justice. We believe that, as stated by Jermaine and Randy, the most important tribute we can give to Michael Jackson at this time is to seek justice in his name."

Performing acts

Musical acts who participated in the event included the Jackson Brothers, Christina Aguilera,

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is a British singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the British television series ''The X Factor'' in 2008, and has been signed to Epic Records, RCA Records and Syc ...

, Yolanda Adams, 3T, Alien Ant Farm,

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, Pixie Lott, Diversity, Craig David,

JLS JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) are an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company Ne ...

, Ne-Yo, Jamie Foxx, Gladys Knight, La Toya Jackson, Leona Lewis and

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

. The BBC Radio 1 presenter Fearne Cotton co-hosted the event with Jamie Foxx. Frank Gatson Jr & Chris Grant staged and choreographed Dance Jam and La Toya Jackson numbers. Chris Grant was amazing playing the great Michael Jackson. In the days running up to the event, three of the acts originally booked to perform pulled out: The Black Eyed Peas, due to "unforeseeable circumstances", which led to speculation in the media that the band were splitting up;

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

, who failed to enter the country for the event as his working visa was denied over the assault of former girlfriend

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

; and Jennifer Hudson, due to "production issues". KISS was also removed from the lineup after bass guitarist Gene Simmons made some hurtful comments against Jackson based on the child molestation allegations.

Setlist

# Billie Jean #

The Lady in My Life ''Thriller'' is the sixth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released on November 29, 1982, by Epic Records. It was produced by Quincy Jones, who had previously worked with Jackson on his 1979 album ''Off the W ...

- Ne-Yo # The Way You Make Me Feel -

# Blame It on the Boogie - JLS & The Jacksons # Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) - The Jacksons # Rock with You - Jamie Foxx # Smooth Criminal # P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) - Alien Ant Farm #

Stranger in Moscow "Stranger in Moscow" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album, ''HIStory'' (1995). The song was released as the sixth and final single worldwide on November 4, 1996 by Epic Records. It was not released ...

# I'll Be There - Leona Lewis # Human Nature - Craig David #

Can You Feel It Can You Feel It may refer to: Albums * ''Can You Feel It'' by Angel, 1989 * ''Can You Feel It?'' (EP) by Highlight, 2017 *''Can You Feel It'', a 1972 album by S.O.U.L. *''Can You Feel It'', a 1973 album by Lighthouse Songs * "Can You Feel It" (Th ...

/ Show You the Way to Go/ Smooth Criminal/

Dangerous Dangerous may refer to: Film and television * ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis * '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson * ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

- Dance Jam Choreographed & Staged by Frank Gatson Jr. & Chris Grant # She's Out of My Life -

# Believe in Yourself - Gladys Knight # I Wanna Be Where You Are -

(On Video Screen) # I Just Can't Stop Loving You - Gladys Knight & Smokey Robinson #

Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...

/ Heartbreak Hotel - 3T & Tito Jackson #

Jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

/ Black or White/

Remember the Time "Remember the Time" is a 1992 single by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on January 14, 1992, as the second single from Jackson's eighth studio album, ''Dangerous''. The song was written and compo ...

Behind the Mask Behind the Mask may refer to: Film and television * ''Behind the Mask'' (1932 film), a film featuring Boris Karloff * ''Behind the Mask'' (1936 film) or ''The Man Behind the Mask'', a British mystery film by Michael Powell * ''Behind the Mas ...

- Diversity #

In the Closet "In the Closet" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on April 9, 1992, as the third single from his eighth album, ''Dangerous'' (1991). The song was written and produced by Jackson and Teddy Riley. It became ...

- La Toya Jackson # I Can't Help It # You Can't Win -

# Smile # Dirty Diana - Christina Aguilera # I Want You Back #

You Are Not Alone "You Are Not Alone" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album, '' HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'' (1995). It was released on August 15, 1995, as the second single from the album. An R&B ballad, "You ...

- Pixie Lott # Earth Song - Yolanda Adams # Another Part of Me - Yolanda Adams # Who's Loving You # Scream -

# Leave Me Alone # Gone Too Soon - Jennifer Hudson # Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Jamie Foxx, JLS & The Jacksons

Aftermath of the event

Global Live Events LLP, which had been formed on 29 March 2011 by film producers Michael Henry and Chris Hunt went into administration on the day of the concert, when both Henry and Hunt both quit the partnership. Both men, Global Live Events and Hunt's media company Iambic Productions were sued in the High Court by Quickdraw - a private investment fund, over ownership of the recordings of the concert. Quickdraw won the case, with the judge stating that Hunt and Henry were 'the most unreliable of witnesses' and their account to the court was 'wholly unbelievable'. Quickdraw was awarded damages of £5 million and costs of in excess of £700,000

Notes

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael Forever - The Tribute Concert Benefit concerts in the United Kingdom Cultural depictions of Michael Jackson Tribute concerts in the United Kingdom 2011 in Wales 2011 in music Events in Cardiff 2010s in Cardiff October 2011 events in the United Kingdom