User:SriMesh/Death of Michael Jackson

British church destroys Michael Jackson tribute

Originally written by Loveandpeace

A tribute to the late Michael Jackson, who died on Thursday, has been destroyed by staff at a church in Birmingham, England.

The tribute, which consisted of flowers, posters and candles, was removed and discarded an hour after it was set up outside St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham, only hours after the death of the King of Pop was announced.

The memorial was placed near the entrance of the Cathedral by the Saltley Gate Peace Group, an inter-faith youth group, whose members had worked through the night to make the posters and collect money for flowers and candles, following requests for assistance from Michael Jackson fans in the city.

A spokeperson for the Cathedral, in Colmore Row, initially told reporters the tribute had been removed on the orders of Birmingham City Council, but later retracted and admitted it was its own decision.

"A tribute to Michael Jackson was left outside the entrance to the cathedral. Unfortunately the cardboard needed to be removed as it would have become sodden and hazardous for people who walked past," she said.

Adam Yosef, chairman of the Saltley Gate Peace Group, said: "I can’t believe they’ve just destroyed our tribute. As soon as we heard about Michael Jackson’s death we were getting a lot of requests on Facebook and Twitter asking if anyone was doing anything to remember him, so we decided we would."

"People getting in touch with us were very shocked and they wanted to express themselves. Michael Jackson was a person who brought together people of different races, religions and backgrounds. He challenged many prejudices and that’s why we wanted to celebrate his life. We thought the cathedral would be the right place to do this because it’s where people congregated when Princess Diana died." he added.

The organisation and fans had also planned a vigil outside the church, which was cancelled.

A second vigil in the city, organised by fans, also had to be cancelled following safety fears by the Birmingham City Council. The tribute was expected to include a spontaneous "Thriller" dance sequence.

Organiser and fan, Wil Vincent, said: "I was told that they [Birmingham City Council] won't permit it due to 'potential noise problems', as well as them questioning the copyright issues over a public broadcast of a song. Obviously, they are all too busy over red tape to remember the fact that possibly the greatest performer of all time is dead."

He explained a third attempt to hold a vigil for Michael Jackson in the city had been planned for 6pm tonight outside the city's Bull Ring shopping centre.

"The event will now be turned into a vigil, remembering the life of an awsome performer, who cared so much about his fans, and was committed to making music that others could only dream."

Similar vigils and tributes have successfully taken place in other British cities, including a mass Michael Jackson singalong, which was held outside Liverpool Street Station in London following police refusal to allow a spontaneous moonwalk inside the venue.

Sources

• Wil Vincent (27 June 2009). "Michael Jackson Vigil, Birmingham UK" – via Facebook.
• "Moonwalking Jackson Fans Mob London Station". Sky News. 27 June 2009.
• James Sturcke (27 June 2009). "Mass moonwalk tribute to Michael Jackson foiled". The Guardian.
• Tina Miles (27 June 2009). "Fans hold vigils in tribute to Michael Jackson". Liverpool Echo.
• Saltley Gate Peace Group [@Saltley] (November 4, 2010). "Michael Jackson Vigil in Birmingham (UK) tonight at 6pm, outside Bullring (Zavvi store, High St.) Flowers, musicetc.- http://tiny.cc/MJBrum" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
• Victoria Farncombe (26 June 2009). "Shock as Michael Jackson fans' tribute posters are removed". Birmingham Mail.
• "Birmingham Cathedral website".

Authorities destroy Michael Jackson tribute in Trafalgar Square

Originally written by 6birc

The first shrine as it appeared in front of the National Gallery at 4 a.m. on 27 June

Close-up of the above shrine

Authorities fenced off and destroyed a shrine to Michael Jackson constructed in front of the National Gallery in London's Trafalgar Square on Sunday night. Police were on guard throughout the night to prevent public access to the wall of the gallery.

The shrine, the biggest in Central London, was produced spontaneously by a crowd of mourners during the second day following the death of Jackson. The entire front wall of the National Gallery was covered with written tributes to the singer, along with flowers and lit candles.

The move follows the destruction of another, smaller shrine in the same place previously, which was set up at the right-end corner of the wall in the aftermath of a commemorative mob beneath Nelson's Column earlier on Friday.

Three other spontaneous shrines in London currently include: at the Lyric Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue where the tribute musical Thriller is performed; at the Trocadero building near Piccadilly Circus; and at the O2 arena where Jackson was set to perform a series of comeback concerts.