Recently relocated gossip Roger Friedman is reporting that AEG Live–the concert-promotion company that was going to put on Michael Jackson’s 50-show run at London’s O2 Arena–is planning to throw a funeral for Jackson this Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, a facility it also happens to own. How convenient! Except it’s not all that convenient for the people producing the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which is supposed to begin a mini-residency at the Staples Center the next day.


Friedman doesn’t have official confirmation of this yet, but he claims that “all systems are go”–and that AEG will commandeer the plaza outside Staples, as well as the Nokia Theatre next door, in order to handle crowd overload. I wonder if the throngs will be so big that people will need to stand out on the freeway, “Everybody Hurts” style?


Michael Jackson Funeral Set for July 7 at Staples Center [Showbiz 411]