Hundreds of fans of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson braved the rain to celebrate what would have been his 51st birthday with a party Saturday in a New York park, organizers said.
Film director Spike Lee organized the celebration in Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, with DJ Spinna setting the beat. As the party got underway about 1,000 fans young and old had gathered to mark the date; organizers said the crowd could reach 10,000 people.
Some of Jackson s greatest hits were showing on a big-screen television. Some fans hit the dance floor and got down, Jackson-style.
Others waited and took turns writing down their memories of the star on a special memorial wall. Despite heavy rain, organizers said the day would go ahead as planned with festivities lasting until around 5:00 pm (2100 GMT).
Lee filmed a Jackson video They Don t Care About Us, in Brazil, which was on Jackson s HIStory album.
The celebration came as weeks of feverish speculation about the cause of Jackson s sudden death in Los Angeles on June 25 were brought to a close Friday when the county coroner s office ruled his demise was a homicide.
In a statement, the officer said that while acute intoxication from the powerful anesthetic propofol was the primary cause of death, Jackson had also suffered from the effects of other drugs in his system.
As well as propofol, powerful drugs including lorazepam, midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine were found in Jackson s body.
The coroner s announcement will fuel speculation that authorities are likely to charge Jackson s personal physician Conrad Murray in connection with the death. Cardiologist Murray was the last person to see Jackson alive.
Jackson s family had originally planned to bury the late popstar on his birthday, but the interment will now take place on Thursday at the prestigious Forest Lawn cemetery, in the leafy Glendale suburb of Los Angeles.
Other tributes were taking place around the world to mark the Jackson s birthday. Some of Bollywood s biggest stars Saturday released a free musical tribute to Jackson.
The video, called Make It Large – A Tribute to Michael Jackson, features introductions from actors including Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra as well as Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh.
In it, Khan says of Jackson: We ve lost a part of our history; some of us have lost a part of our growing up.
Some people teach by their words, others by their lives. Thanks for being with us for ever.
And up to 15,000 people in Mexico were expected to take part Saturday in a potentially record breaking mass performance of Jackson s famed Thriller dance.
We re expecting between 12,000 and 15,000 participants, said Javier Hidalgo, director of youth services in Mexico City, during a press conference.
That would be more than enough to beat a similar effort by fans in Barcelona to set a new world record for the number of people performing the famed dance that accompanied Jackson s hit song.
Just 300 people have signed up for the attempt in the Spanish city, according to Mexico City s Tourism Secretary Alejandro Rojas.
The world record, as certified by the Guinness Book of Records, was set on April 19 in the United States by 242 dancers.
