More than half a million Michael Jackson fans have already applied¹ for 17,500 free tickets to the singer's public memorial service next week.

超过五十万的迈克尔杰克逊粉丝已经申请到下周公开葬礼的17500张免费门票。

 The Staples² Center was where Michael Jackson's rehearsals³ were held

Jackson, who died last week aged⁴ 50, will be remembered at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Tickets will be chosen at random⁵ from names registered at staplescenter.com.

Police in Los Angeles expect as many as 700,000 people may try to reach the arena⁶（竞技场） but it will be sealed off to those without tickets.

As of 1730 on Friday (0030 GMT Saturday), more than 524,330 people had registered for tickets, Jackson family spokesman Ken⁷ Sunshine said in a statement.

A total of 11,000 free tickets are to be issued for the service. Fans from around the world can apply.

Another 6,500 tickets will be issued for a simulcast（同时播放） of the service at the nearby Nokia theatre. It means a total of 17,500 fans will be able to see the events free.

Officials said 8,750 pairs of tickets would be allotted（分配） to the successful entrants（竞赛者，新成员） after 1800 Saturday (0100 GMT Sunday) and notifications would go out later on Sunday.

Those selected will be able to get their tickets via Ticketmaster on Monday, officials said.

Originally, the Staples Center website said only US residents could apply for tickets, but AEG's Randy Phillips later told the BBC that that was not the case.

Officials appealed to other fans to watch the memorial service from their own homes, amid fears that thousands of people without tickets could flood the area.

"If you do not have a ticket, if you are not credentialed（凭据，印信）, not only will you not be allowed at these venues⁹（发生地点）, you will not be allowed in this area," said Los Angeles assistant police chief Earl Paysinger.

Big screens

Jackson had been rehearsing（预演，排练） for his London concerts at the Staples Center.

In a press conference, family representative Ken Sunshine said they wanted to accommodate（调节，何解） as many fans as possible.

"It is all about the fans," he said.

Officials said that no funeral procession（出丧，出葬） would take place and the memorial service would not be shown on big screens outside the venues. Free pool feeds will be made available to media organisations for broadcast, they said.

Earlier, a lawyer for Michael Jackson's former wife Debbie Rowe said she was undecided about whether to fight for custody¹⁰（拘留，监禁） of her two children with the star.

On Thursday, Ms Rowe won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides if she wants to raise Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, known as Prince Michael, 12, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11.

The singer's youngest son - seven-year-old Prince Michael II - was born to a surrogate mother（替身母亲，代孕母亲） whose identity has never been revealed（显示，透漏）.

In his will, Jackson stipulated¹¹（规定，明定） that his mother, Katherine, 79, should have permanent（永久的，持久的） custody of all three children. She currently has temporary custody of them.

A judge has delayed a guardianship（监护，保护） hearing - scheduled for Monday - until 13 July at the request of Ms Rowe and Katherine Jackson.

Mystery death

It is still not known what caused Jackson's death last week at the age of 50.

He collapsed¹² at his home and was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre.

An autopsy¹³（验尸） was conducted but results are not expected for several weeks. The Jackson family had a second autopsy performed and those results are also pending¹⁴.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's office has said there is no evidence of foul¹⁵ play（不符合体育道德的行为）.

It added that the results of toxicology（毒物学） tests could take weeks to come back.