Debbie Rowe to attend memorial (From Haringey Independent)

Debbie Rowe to attend memorial

5:13pm Monday 6th July 2009 in

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Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe will attend the pop superstar's memorial service.

Michael's former business associate Marc Schaffel told US show Good Morning America that Debbie, who is the mother of Michael's two oldest children, was confirmed for VIP seats.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles City Council said she'd "love it" if the Jacksons helped defray some of the city's expected costs associated with the memorial, but that officials hadn't heard from the family.

More than 1.6 million fans registered online for a chance to attend the Staples Center ceremony, and only 8,750 names were chosen. Los Angeles officials are concerned about other fans clogging city streets.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who also appeared on Good Morning America, made no mention of whether the Jacksons would help the city with some of the expected costs.

"The city is trying to do what it should do to secure people," said Sharpton, a family friend. "That's what cities do. Clearly, no one in the family are happy that the city is incurring any expense at all. You're talking about an historic figure that will have an historic celebration, probably one that we would not see similar in this generation."