Lagos — At death, Michael Jackson created more records on Tuesday as millions of fans around the world gathered at odd hours to watch his public memorial in Los Angeles, with television stations clearing their schedules to broadcast it from Tokyo to Paris, Egypt to Australia, and also streamed globally online.

It struck a tone more spiritual than spectacular, opening with a church choir serenading his golden casket and continuing with somber speeches and gospel-themed musical performances.

Pastor Lucious W. Smith of the Friendship Baptist Church in Pasadena gave the invocation, followed by Mariah Carey singing the opening performance with a sweet rendition of the Jackson 5 ballad "I'll Be There,' a duet with Trey Lorenz.

"We come together and we remember the time,' said Smith, riffing off one of Jackson's lyrics. "As long as we remember him, he will always be there to comfort us.'

Among those who saluted Jackson were music mogul Barry Gordy, Al Sharpton and basketball greats Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. Jennifer Hudson sang Jackson's hit "Will You Be There' and John Mayer played guitar on a whisper-light rendition of "Human Nature.'

"This is a moment that I wished I didn't live to see,' Stevie Wonder said before his performance.

The singer Smokey Robinson began the service by reading statements from Jackson's close friends Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela, who ended his statement with the words, "Be strong.'

After a long period of silence punctuated only by camera flashes, the tension broke with the organ strains of a black spiritual, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, going to see the King.'

Lionel Richie gave a gospel-infused performance in front of a shaft of light evoking a cross.

An estimated 20,000 people were in the Staples Centre as Jackson's flower-draped casket was brought to the venue in a motorcade under law enforcement escort.

Those who gathered constituted a visual representation of his life: black, white and everything in between, wearing fedoras and African headdresses, sequins and surgical masks.

"Words really can't explain how I feel,' said Dani Harris, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mom from Los Angeles. "I'm happy to be here, but the occasion is not so cool. I'm happy to be here and have some closure. It still doesn't seem real.'

Fans with a ticket wore gold wristbands and picked up a metallic gold program guide on their way in. Acting as pallbearers, Jackson's brothers each wore a gold necktie, a single spangly white glove and sunglasses.

Members of the Jackson family sat in the front row of the Staples Centre, including his brothers and three children. His brother, Jermaine, took the stage and sang the standard "Smile' as he fought back tears.

Jackson's hearse had been part of a motorcade that smoothly whisked his body 10 miles across closed freeways from a private service at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills cemetery to his public memorial and waiting fans.

The traffic snarls and logistical nightmares that had been feared by police and city officials did not materialise. Thousands of fans with tickets began filing in early and encountered few problems, and traffic was actually considered by police to be lighter than normal.

"I think people got the message to stay home,' said California Highway Patrol Officer Miguel Luevano. "When you have people staying home, it clears up those freeways.'

Deputy Police Chief Sergio Diaz, Operations Chief for the event, said authorities had expected a crowd of 250,000. Besides reporters and those with tickets to the memorial service, the crowd around the Staples Centre perimeter numbered only about 1,000, he added.

Outside the Staples Centre, Claudia Hernandez, 29, said she loved Jackson's music as a girl growing up in Mexico. Now a day-care teaching assistant in Los Angeles, Hernandez disclosed that she cried watching TV coverage of his death.

"I'm trying to hold in my emotions,' said Hernandez, wearing a wristband to allow her admittance to the service and holding a framed photograph of Jackson. "I know right now he's teaching the angels to dance.'

More than 1.6 million people registered for the lottery for free tickets to Jackson's memorial. A total 8,750 were chosen to receive two tickets each.

"There are certain people in our popular culture that just capture people's imaginations. And in death, they become even larger,' President Barack Obama told CBS while in Moscow. "Now, I have to admit that it's also fed by a 24/7 media that is insatiable.'

Half a dozen protesters stood among fans, condemning Jackson over his child-molestation charges, holding signs that read, "Jacko in Hell,' "You're Going to Hell' and "Mourn for Your Sins.'

New York Representative, Peter King, released a YouTube video calling Jackson, who was acquitted of child molestation charges, a "pervert' and a "lowlife.'

But Jackson's devotees far outnumbered his critics. Mishelle Van, 37, drove with her cousin from Hesperia, California, arriving in Los Angeles at 1 a.m. They spent the early morning hours with other Jackson fans.

"They're touching us and saying, can you bring the love in for us?' said Van, who was among those with a wristband for the service.

Melvin Price, 43, flew in from England on Saturday, even before he knew he had won a ticket to the Jackson memorial.

"I wanted to pay my last respects to Michael Jackson,' said Price, dressed in a red leather jacket. "I've been a fan of his for 35 years.'

Millions gathered in public, in front of television sets, and at computer screens to experience the mourning of the celebrated pop star.

Chants of "Michael! Michael!' rang out in Harlem, where about 1,000 gathered to watch the memorial service on a giant screen live.

A steady stream of fans - wearing Jackson T-shirts and listening to hits like "Billie Jean' - visited his boyhood home in Gary, Ind.

"I felt like I needed to pay homage to 'the greatest," said 49-year-old, retired chemical operator Jackie Ford, who used to do Jackson's moonwalk and drove to Gary from Aberdeen, Miss.

The media-saturated event was expected to rival the online audience of even Obama's January inauguration - which similarly was a daytime event witnessed by many on their computers at work.

Aside from the wall-to-wall coverage by the television networks and cable news channels, the memorial service was streamed online by many news outlets and Websites, including those of Hulu.com, MySpace.com, and The New York Times. The Associated Press also offered live broadcast online.

Several outlets rolled out interactive features previously used for Obama's inauguration. CNN.com integrated its live video with chatter from Facebook.

"This has a shot to be one of the biggest lives events we've hoisted up,' said Kenneth "KC' Estenson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CNN.com. "It's tracking to be pretty big.'

However, while many celebrated Jackson's life, others shrugged off the spectacle. In Baltimore, a simulcast of the funeral at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, drew only about 10 people. Much of the normal crowd went about their business checking out books without seeming to notice the screen showing the memorial service.

It was not clear what will happen to Jackson's body. The Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills cemetery is the final resting place for such stars as Bette Davis, Andy Gibb, Freddie Prinze, Liberace and recently deceased David Carradine and Ed McMahon.

But Jermaine has expressed a desire to have him buried someday at Neverland, his estate in Southern California.