The singer's family were reportedly hoping to lay the star to rest at his beloved ranch but are now scrambling to find a new location amid fears it would be illegal to bury Michael at his former home.
California's health and safety laws prohibit the burying of bodies outside designated cemeteries. The family has been unable to obtain the residential exemption required to bury the star on private property.
Previous reports claimed Michael - who died last week after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest - would make his final journey from Los Angeles to Neverland today (02.07.09) in a white horse-drawn carriage.
It was claimed he would then be placed in a glass coffin so fans could pay their respects ahead of a burial on the grounds of the Santa Barbara ranch on Sunday (05.07.09).
Santa Barbara police had already been preparing crowd control and security plans for the memorial, and workmen have spent the past few days sprucing up the abandoned property.
Yesterday (01.07.09), a truck was seen delivering hundreds of portable toilets.
It is believed Michael's body is being held at Los Angeles' Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, where his grandmother was buried in 1990.
Many believe Michael will be laid to rest there, alongside celebrities including Bette Davis, Lucille Ball, Liberace and David Carradine, who died in Thailand last month.
Insiders claim a public memorial will be held at the Staples Center sports arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning (07.07.09).
Unlike the planned Neverland ceremony, the body will not be present.
Michael spent the last night of his life at the Staples Center, rehearsing for his upcoming London residency until midnight on June 24.
Here's some photos (provided by AEG) of pop star Michael Jackson rehearsing at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 23, 2009...
Here's a video footage of Michael Jackson's concert rehearsal just 2 days before he died..Click on the thumbnail below to watch his concert rehearsal video!
He's still amazing on stage at 50!
He's still the best ever..
It would have been an awesome concert performance!
Such a pity.. :_(
