HONG KONG (AP) — Michael Jackson fans around the world said Tuesday they would join in mourning the pop legend in solidarity with the thousands attending the official memorial in Los Angeles.
From Tokyo to Melbourne, Asian fans braced for a late night to watch the event, where entertainers like Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher and Lionel Richie were due to pay tribute to Jackson, who died June 25.
In Australia, the memorial will be broadcast live on a giant screen in the southern city of Melbourne at 3 a.m. local time. Several Australian TV stations will also carry the event live.
In Hong Kong, a suburban mall will tune its TV screens to the event at 1 a.m. as part of a celebration featuring performances of Jackson's signature "moonwalk" and a nonstop broadcast of his videos. At another Hong Kong mall, Taiwanese newcomer Judy Chou was to perform Jackson classics as Hong Kong and Chinese fans lay flowers at a wax statue of the singer on loan from the local Madame Tussauds museum.
Among those staying up will be Hong Kong singer Aaron Kwok, considered Chinese pop's most accomplished dancer.
"Michael is my only idol," Kwok said Tuesday. "MJ inspired me so much from the time I first joined the entertainment industry to when I first performed on stage."
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 34-year-old actor and magician Henzi Andalas said he wants to watch the memorial as closure. "It gives a sense of OK, now he's no longer here," he said. "He's one of my biggest influences in becoming an artist."
In the Philippines, the country's longest running noontime television variety show, "Eat Bulaga," will hold a Michael Jackson dancing contest Wednesday in honor of the pop icon after the Los Angeles memorial, organizers said.
Even in the reclusive, military-controlled Myanmar, a dance group held a memorial service for Jackson as nearly 200 fans held a candlelight vigil in a Yangon park last week, the local Weekly Eleven News journal reported.
"Michael Jackson is my teacher. I learned dancing by watching Michael Jackson's movements. I am profoundly saddened by his death," said dancer Min Min Htun, who arranged the service during his regular show at the Happy World Entertainment park. (By MIN LEE/AP Entertainment Writer)
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Associated Press writers Kristen Gelineau in Sydney, Oliver Teves in Manila and Julia Zappei in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.