London first stop for Jackson exhibit (AP)

[Yahoo! News]

AP - The president of the company planning an exhibit of Michael Jackson's memorabilia says the show's first stop will be London's O2 Arena.

The venue is where Jackson was scheduled to open his 50-show "This is It" concert before he died in Los Angeles on June 25.

Arts and Exhibitions International President and CEO John Norman says that in addition to the arena, the O2 has a 20,000 square foot exhibition space where he previously put on a King Tut exhibit. He says the other two venues would be decided later and that Los Angeles would likely be among the top contenders.

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A judge on Friday firmly approved a deal between Michael Jackson's estate and a concert promoter to exhibit his memorabilia, praising the arrangement that the singer's mother had fought in court over her concerns that it could harm his legacy and wasn't competitively bid.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved the deal that's expected to earn Jackson's estate up to $6 million, saying after four hours of mostly closed-door testimony that there was "no question in my mind this agreement is in the best interest of the estate."

Beckloff noted the lack of a reasonable alternative presented by Katherine Jackson's attorneys, alluding to a mention made in court of a company starting up in the Middle East that might be able to handle the exhibitions.

"The most foolhardy thing the administrators could do is connect with some startup company from the Middle East," he said.

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Jackson memorabilia tour approved; London's first - Yahoo! News