Michael Jackson's coffin of gold

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Michael Jackson is to be buried in a gold coffin.
The King of Pop's funeral will feature a circus-style public memorial service led by elephants.
His coffin, a rare £15,000 design called the Promethean, is made of solid bronze but is 14-carat gold-plated with a hand-polished mirror finish and lined with velvet. It was ordered last night from America's Batesville Casket Company and is identical to the coffin used to bury James Brown in 2006 — which may have inspired Jackson after he saw it when Brown lay in state.

Resting place: Jackson's 14-carat gold-plated send-off

Jackson's send-off on Tuesday afternoon will begin at the LA Lakers basketball team's home court, the Staples Centre. He rehearsed there for his planned comeback concerts at The O2 just two days before his death, and 11,000 tickets will be distributed free to the general public. Jackson died from a suspected heart attack last Thursday, aged 50.

Up to a million people are expected to gather at the venue which will erect giant screens outside for those who cannot get in.

Inspired: Jackson at James Brown's funeral in 2006, where he saw the gold casket

The memorial will feature performances and tributes from a host of music and acting legends and will open with a parade of circus animals, including tigers and elephants — part of LA's annual Parade Of The Elephants.

The parade, devised by The Ringling Bros Barnum And Bailey Circus, in which the animals walk through the streets trunk to tail, was already scheduled for Tuesday morning.

When asked in 2002 what he thought his funeral would be like, Jackson said: "It's going to be the greatest show on Earth. That's what I want. Fireworks and everything."

Among the guests expected to attend are Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor and Sir Paul McCartney.
President Barack Obama has also reportedly been invited and last night he spoke for the first time about the singer's death. He said: "I still have all his stuff on my iPod. I grew up on his music."

He added that he thought Jackson had experienced "a tragic and in many ways sad personal life".

After the memorial, there will be a private ceremony at Forest Lawn cemetery in Hollywood which will be attended by family and close friends only.

But Jackson's long-term friend and producer Quincy Jones said that he will not be going. He said: "No. I'm not going to the funeral. I don't wanna go to no funeral. It's not what I want to see."