Media reports have said Jackson is expected to be buried in a private family service in Los Angeles ahead of the memorial, but a family spokesman declined to comment on that service.

Questions persist over who will pay for police security and other services such as sanitation required for such a massive gathering. Cost estimates were hard to come by, but Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine estimated as much as $2.5 million.

Like other cities, Los Angeles is strapped for cash in the current recession, and people have complained that public money should not be used for what is, in some ways, a private event.

Still, acting Mayor Jan Perry has said police and other agencies have contingency budgets for events such as this.

About 1.6 million people registered to be among the 8,750 who won two free tickets to the event, and police expect many who did not win tickets to show up outside.

The memorial will be televised live on major U.S. networks, as well as streamed on the Internet.