Los Angeles - A star-studded public tribute to Michael Jackson was held Tuesday in Los Angeles with thousands of randomly selected fans joining family and friends to bid farewell to the King of Pop.
Jackson, who died on 25 June at a Los Angeles hospital after being rushed there after suffering cardiac arrest, was hailed as the "greatest entertainer that ever lived" during the two-and-a-half-hour ceremony, which featured musical performances and speeches.
Just before the memorial service began at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, condolence letters from music legend Diana Ross and former South African President Nelson Mandela were read to the crowd.
Ms Ross, who introduced Jackson and his brothers to the entertainment industry in 1960s, wrote that Jackson was "part of the fabric of my life in a way that I can't seem to find words to express."
In his letter, Mr Mandela wrote that "Michael was a giant and a legend in the music industry and we mourn with the millions of fans worldwide."
A church choir opened the memorial service by singing "Soon and Very Soon," as the singer's flower-covered casket was wheeled to the Staples Center stage.
Then, singers including Mariah Carey and Lionel Ritchie began to perform the more somber hits like "I will be there" to pay tribute to the late superstar.
Jackson's brother Jermaine performed "Smile," a song written by Charlie Chaplin for his 1936 film "Modern Times," which is believed to be Michael Jackson's favorite song.
The most emotional moment of the event came as Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris, together with family members, went to the stage and said a tearful goodbye to her father.
"I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine," she said through tears. "And I just wanted to say I love him so much."
The girl then broke down weeping, with her aunt Janet embracing her on stage.
The public memorial service, which followed a family memorial at the Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills, was in fact a celebration of the life of Michael Jackson, who died at the age of 50.
"Through his words, his music and his countless good deeds, Michael did so much to try and heal our world," said the Rev. Lucious Smith, a longtime Jackson family friend, in his speech during the event.
The final part of the ceremony were performances of "We Are the World" and "Heal the World," two famous songs co-written by Jackson in the 1980s as an effort for African famine relief.
Earlier in the morning, hundreds of friends and relatives gathered at the Forest Lawn cemetery in Hollywood Hills to bid a private farewell to Jackson, whose casket was then placed inside a black hearse and driven toward Staples Center for the public memorial.
