Emotional Crowd Inside Jackson Memorial Service; Few Outside
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
A crowd assembles at Figueroa and Olympic, some waiting to cross into L.A. Live, others selling MJ merchandise.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — (Last update: 1:10pm) A series of emotional speeches and performances brought out tears both on-stage and in the audience attending the Michael Jackson memorial service at Staples Center today, but a crowd that many expected to form outside the facility failed to materialize.
Thousands of LAPD officers were involved in today's deployment, which involved blocking off the area around L.A. Live. The city has estimated its costs for the service at nearly $4 million.
7:30am — Two and a half hours before the memorial service for Michael Jackson, the blocks around L.A. Live are the place to find any manner of MJ merchandise. Street vendors hawking buttons, t-shirts and anything else one could imagine are set up on sidewalks and in nearby parking lots.
Olympic Blvd. remains open to traffic, with a contingent of the LAPD officers on-scene directing cars and pedestrians.
8:15am — Still an orderly scene outside. A steady, orderly stream of those with wristbands and tickets can be seen crossing into the L.A. Live area past the LAPD barricades. There does not yet seem to be any significant build-up of ticketless fans, but no one knows what the situation will be at 10am when the service starts.
10:00am — The motorcade is here and the service is getting set to start. The scene around L.A. Live is extremely orderly, with only handfuls of people outside each of the barricade points.
10:45am — Just added a set of photos from outside Staples Center and around the barricades.
10:50am — This event encompasses the entire L.A. Live campus. Club Nokia is in use as a press room for writers. The GRAMMY Museum's Sound Stage is hosting a viewing for roughly 200 friends and members. The Farm and ESPN Zone were selling breakfast on the sidewalk as people entered.
1:15pm — The service has ended, and those who were inside Staples Center and Nokia Theatre are headed home. I would generously estimate the crowd outside the barricades at 500.
A swarm of media descended on those exiting the service, with TV crews picking people off for interviews. There had to have been a hundred different crews, so getting through uninterviewed would have been quite the feat.
Candice on July 07, 2009, at 10:13AM – #1
Pretty lame. I was wishing for a crowd in downtown. It isn't the same watching it alone at your house.
carly on July 07, 2009, at 10:34AM – #2
MJ was a great artist but hopefully we can get back to real news after today. There is a related post at http://iamsoannoyed.com/?p=2088
Vanzant on July 07, 2009, at 10:59AM – #3
Fox 11 reported they wer giving out tix to people in the street because a few hundred were empty prior to the start.
As for LAPD...way to spend too much money and then ask for help. It seemed really obvious as of even last night when there were NO people and tons of cop cars that they were over-doing it. 750,000? more like 1,000 from my view on olympic. Right now I can see 20 officers lined up in front of a quiet crowd of 200 people. Not to mention the 30 porta potys set up on Flower, when 1 or 2 would have sufficed.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on July 07, 2009, at 11:12AM – #4
Vanzant: I may have to ask this question to some people with LAPD and the city, but I've been wondering if these overdeployments aren't still a result of the 2006 immigration marches. LAPD got caught a bit off-guard then, and it feels like they've deployed much more heavily for marches ever since.
Vivo on July 07, 2009, at 11:34AM – #5
It was a huge overreaction. There were almost more police than people in the streets - blockades all over, police cars and even parking enforcement vehicles blocking the streets. Jan Perry is a smart woman, but she got this completely wrong. It was a huge waste of money for this overreaction. Vanzants is right, you could even tell from last nights small crowds that crowds would not be a problem today.
Worldclass cities keep the public safe but they dont operate from a place of fear or small mindedness. Los Angeles did. Worldclass cities can handle the masses and not scare them away. Los Angeles forced the public away. Worldclass cities have large public spaces to accommodate the masses for such events - Los Angeles does not. Very disappointing.
Don Garza on July 07, 2009, at 03:30PM – #6
great event..peacefu...l
guest on July 07, 2009, at 03:38PM – #7
boooo to AEG and downtown event planners...when they were promoting LA Live, they were saying that the plaza was to be used for downtown gatherings...instead, they close it when there's something remotely exciting happening...Emmy's,Grammy's.AMA's...let's close the plaza to the public!,,,and let's open it when nothing's happening so the people can stare at the concrete pavement....now, forget the upcoming ESPYs, they will do the same for sure.
i live in southpark and i'm this close to boycotting all those venues and restaurants at LA Live.
The plaza would have easily accomodated all the poeple in the perimeter and everyone would have been happy....instead, it seemed there were more police than regular people, and people who showed up were disappointed....people at the top of these events seem to have no idea or doesn't get the pulse of the people...when will they ever get it right?
Erica Sanford on July 07, 2009, at 04:09PM – #8
Lapd, they're damned if they do, damned if they don't. When they attempt to control the scene by deploying too many officers, they are criticized, but if they don't place enough, they are criticized again. I believe they did the best they could do under the time constraints. Let's applaud the lapd for keeping it peaceful versus criticizing them. There is really no way to know how many people were going o show up for this thing.
guest on July 07, 2009, at 04:54PM – #9
my point was, even if the anticipated number of people did show up, they still should have used the plaza....they should just have a better peace keeping strategy.
Say if the same number of people are anticipated to show up on New year's Eve, will they close it again?
Jon on July 07, 2009, at 05:20PM – #10
Interesting point re New Year's. If I recall correctly, while Nokia Plaza was open to the public last New Year's, there was zero programming there for the evening (just the same Christmas "tree" show). That's one way to keep the size of the crowds manageable. While marketed as Times Square West, I'm not sure AEG ever wanted it to be like Times Square on New Year's Eve.
While it has served as a public gathering space in the past (the Obama inauguration), the Nokia Plaza remains privately owned. And for better or worse, it serves as a public gathering space only on AEG's terms. To be fair, even with Chick Hearn Court closed to traffic, the space is not that big. It couldn't accommodate the Lakers victory parade/ceremony, and it wouldn't have accommodated all of Michael Jackson's fans had they not been advised to stay away. The city still lacks a suitable PUBLIC space for these types of events. LA Live is not that kind of space, and perhaps was never intended to be.
guest on July 07, 2009, at 05:38PM – #11
even Times Square in itself is not that big of a place, but on New Year's Eve, they use all the roads and streets that lead up to it as a gathering space...I'm sure it can be done at LA Live too, if they use the perimeter streets surrounding it....especially if they take advantage of the height of the Ritz Carlton as a launching pad like they use the Times building in NYC.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on July 07, 2009, at 06:10PM – #12
Jon: It's also worth pointing out that Nokia Plaza was in heavy use with the media risers. I'm not sure where they would have gone had the plaza been open to the public. I'm not saying they did it absolutely correctly, but I just thought it worth mentioning.
Jon on July 07, 2009, at 06:15PM – #13
Guest,
I disagree. In terms of flat space leading toward a focal point (One Times Square, where the ball drops on New Year's), Times Square is huge compared to Nokia Plaza. If the big screen above Wolfgang Puck's is the focal point of the Nokia Plaza, there's not much space. But if Nokia Plaza were facing Figueroa or Olympic, or better yet, was built on the corner of Figueroa and Olympic...
But it's not, and some believe this was intentional to discourage people/consumers from leaving the AEG grounds. The more cynical think AEG doesn't care if people drive to LA Live, spend their money there and leave, without any other interactions with downtown.
Is there a focal point like One Times Square in LA, which essentially sits in the middle of two large streets and a flat expanse of pedestrian median? If/when completed, the Civic Park (Grand Avenue Project) could turn City Hall into that type of focal point.
Jon
Jon on July 07, 2009, at 06:23PM – #14
Eric, I forgot about that. Thanks for pointing it out. I still think, even if it were available, Nokia Plaza is too small to accommodate all of Michael Jackson's fans (or fans during a Lakers victory parade, or revelers during a city-wide New Year's Eve party). For example, this is what it looks like with only 1500 - 2000 people:
http://www.blogdowntown.com/2009/01/3984-thousands-turn-out-for-inauguration-event
Vivo on July 07, 2009, at 06:27PM – #15
AEG did say the plaza would be used for public gatherings. And it certainly could have been for this event. Even if the crowd were 10x(+) bigger, it could have worked. Especially if they utilized the surrounding streets. And the large screens would have been used to their potential. The space sits empty all year, and this was a prime opportunity to utilize it.
Instead AEG keeps it off limits, like my great-grandmothers plastic covered sofa. Or the Contreras Pool built for 160million, and then closed off families and children who live near the pool, because if the public were to use it they might damage it.
AEG was likely scared because of the broken windows and fires caused by Lakers' fans who got over-amped and rowdy after winning. They didn't want their windows broken at this event. But this was not a basketball championship. It was a memorial for a singer.
I hope AEG becomes a little more civic minded, and and starts to work with the public to utilize the plaza as they said they would when they built it. Until then, I'm joining "guest" in his boycott.
Vivo on July 07, 2009, at 06:46PM – #16
John, you are right, it is certainly not a perfect space. The Grand Avenue Project would be, and this event speaks to the great need for it, but until then i think we should make the best out of what we have which is Nokia Plaza. In addition to the large screen above Wolfgang Pucks, there are several screens in the Plaza that are visible from outside, and a very large screen on the ESPN zone building visible from far down Figueroa St. and down 11th street.
Jon on July 07, 2009, at 07:06PM – #17
And since LA Central still hasn't broken ground, lots of fans could have watched the ESPN Zone screen from that massive parking lot on the southeast corner of 11th and Fig. Good points guys, and I agree that while not ideal, the LA Live area could have worked. It did seem that the city was more interested in protecting property than addressing the public's desire to share in this event.
I'm still not sure the area could handle hundreds of thousands of people, but it certainly could have handled much more than the few ticketless individuals who bothered to be there.
It's a Mall on July 07, 2009, at 09:25PM – #18
LA Live is just a mall, nothing more. Think of it like Citywalk and The Promenade.
You're asking a lot for an outdoor mall.
Oscar on July 08, 2009, at 07:00AM – #19
I'm really glad it happened the way it happened. LAPD did an excellent job and AEG planning couldn't have been better.
I really hope we NEVER again have to face that much people trying to congregate in the streets, please don't let the negative comments affect you LAPD it was an excellent work.
JM on July 08, 2009, at 02:46PM – #20
On the whole, it was a big disappointment (for a funeral/memorial thingy). There were barely a thousand people in the surrounding area and it felt more like a police rally. I saw cops on foot, on bicycles, on segways, on horses, and in helicopters. I think the main (valid) criticism of the police presence is that yesterday was an overreaction to the Lakers Riot a few weeks ago. They were vastly under-prepared for that event, so this time they decided not to be caught short and overdid the whole thing. Personally, I don't buy into that whole attitude that you can't criticize the police force, because they're "damned if they do, damned if they don't". My main criticism is that there seems to be no flexibility in their planning. They follow a rigid plan and stick to it. Besides, they all looked pretty happy to be making overtime money. And the thing that really got my goat about yesterday was that there was NO MUSIC!! A couple of tiny stereos here and there, but nothing to keep people entertained. Next time Michael Jackson dies, I'm just going to stay home like the LAPD recommends...
DT on July 08, 2009, at 07:54PM – #21
Im sure glad Vivo and Vanzant know how to run billion dollar agencies... gosh we've been missing thier talent..wonder where theyve been all this time... oh never mind
Brian on July 08, 2009, at 09:26PM – #22
So the city is asking for money and everyone is up in arms over the cost of the MJ memorial. City pegs the total around $1.4 million. Jan Perry went on everyone network news station last week and talked about the special fund they had to cover this.
Not a mention since last Friday about this fund. Did Perry over-step her boundaries during her moment of glory (acting as Mayor for the weekend)?
Jon on July 09, 2009, at 06:17PM – #23
Oh boy. Per TMZ, Councilman Dennis Zine told KTTV today that AEG made $50,000 by charging the media to use risers outside the venue. I'm guessing these were the risers that filled Nokia Plaza.
So not only was the public denied access to Nokia Plaza, but the space was used for AEG's direct monetary gain. (Unless it costs that much to assemble and take down such risers, in which case AEG was just seeking reimbursement for expenses?)
Purple Haze on July 09, 2009, at 10:10PM – #24
WHAT?..You mean they ain't renamed the place as the "world class" Michael Jackson Memorial Plaza yet?
Perhaps they could put up a hundred foot tall statue of the guy standing there with his chimp. Yeah, Downtown's answer to that transvestite ballerina out in Venice.
Really! That would be the perfect civic monument to the City of L.A.