Michael Jackson O2 Concert Promoter In Trouble


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Concert promoter AEG Live faces the daunting task of refunding $85 million in ticket sales in the wake of Michael Jackson’s untimely death on Thursday. The King of Pop was slated to play 50 sold-out concerts this summer in London at the O2 Arena.

The Los Angeles Times reports that AEG had invested a aprox. $20 million in production costs for the shows, billed as the “This Is It” concerts, which were scheduled to begin on July 13. AEG’s profits for the concerts were expected at around $115 million, add to that a three-year worldwide tour also planned that could have grossed $450 million.

AEG President & CEO Randy Phillips released this statement on Friday afternoon, “Yesterday was a day I will never forget, or want to remember. Michael was both weak and strong, clever and kind, talented beyond belief and equally insecure. He was a doting father, respectful son, loving brother, and caring uncle. He was my friend. I take great solace in the pride and confidence he exhibited during production rehearsals on Wednesday night. That is the memory I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Despite rumors that Jackson had been falling ill, a source close to Jackson told MTV News, “Michael has been in rehearsals. He’s been in good spirits. He’s been rehearsing eight hours a day for the London concerts.”

But sources close to Jackson claim that Michael had been making regular visits to a Beverly Hills medical center, according to E! Online, Jackson passed a medical exam required for AEG to obtain insurance from Lloyd’s of London for the shows.

“He passed the physical and everything was a go,” a source tells the site, adding he was scheduled to undergo another physical before the shows. In May, Phillips said that he had “passed it with flying colors.”

The doctor who reportedly was at Michael Jackson’s home when the pop star went into cardiac arrest had been hired by the concert promoter working on Jackson’s upcoming comeback shows in London, the promoter told the Associated Press.

Phillips told the LA Times in May that Jackson was working with choreographer Kenny Ortega (the director of “High School Musical”) to create a new dance move that would eclipse Jackson’s signature moonwalk for the London shows.


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