Michael Jackson’s gold casket was covered with red flowers and was wheeled out through the 20,000-strong audience and positioned in front of the stage, as a choir sang Soon And Very Soon in an emotional scene at the Staples Center.
The ceremony got under way about 10 minutes after the scheduled 10am start time as mourners waited for the hearse carrying Jackson’s coffin to arrive from the nearby Forest Lawn Cemetery where there was a private ceremony for family.