Memorabilia tour begins in London

On Friday, Judge Beckloff, after a multi-hour court session, decided to grant permission to hold an exhibition of Michael Jackson’s memorabilia that will travel on a tour through three cities around the world. After listening for a few hours to explanations about why the tour should be set up, he announced, “I have no doubt left that this tour is in Michael Jackson’s best interests.”

Thus, the Michael Jackson memorabilia exhibition will open on October 28, at the same time as the public release of the film about his rehearsals, at the O2 Arena in London. The organizer will be AEG. Katherine Jackson objected to this decision. In her view, the right to display Michael’s memorabilia should be put out to tender among several companies. It is said that this tour will add $6 million to Michael’s assets.

Under a contract between Michael’s lawyers and AEG, the tour’s profits will be split 50-50 between the two parties. Katherine Jackson expected a larger share of the profits to go to Michael’s heirs. According to the will, Michael’s three children receive 40% of their father’s assets, and the remaining 40% goes to their guardian, Katherine Jackson—his grandmother. The remaining 20% belongs to several charitable institutions.

Meg Ladaiz, the lawyer whose job is to protect the children’s interests, said she believes the memorabilia tour is financially beneficial for Michael’s three children.

This exhibition tour will last more than two years. It will go to three cities worldwide, and in each city it will stay for four to six months. In addition to these three cities, there have been talks about bringing the tour to the Middle East.

It is still not clear what exactly will be displayed, but it has been said that there is a storage warehouse full of items from which selections can be easily made—for example, items from the Neverland property or from the unperformed This Is It tour. The selection of items is set to begin starting tomorrow, Monday.

Brett Levech, Katherine’s lawyer, has expressed hope that AEG will be committed to protecting Michael’s legacy.

This lawyer also asked the judge to hold a session to review the qualifications of John Branca and John McClain, who—according to Michael’s will—are responsible for carrying out his wishes after his death and for handling his professional and business affairs. In September, a hearing will be held to consider Brett Levech’s request.

Source: eMJey / AP