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Riot police on alert ahead of Michael Jackson’s funeral

They fear that hundreds of thousands may gatecrash the Hollywood event, before fighting their way into the memorial service, to be held later at the 20,000-seater Staples Centre.

Details for the funeral have not been released as yet, and there was even speculation that Jacko could be buried in a private ceremony on July 6, as his mum Katherine wanted to avoid pandemonium.

“It looks like Monday morning right now. We have a lot to do but we have to make sure the children get to say goodbye properly,” the Daily Star quoted a relative as saying.

Plans for a funeral procession have already been cancelled to guard against crowd surges or rioting.

Even though there will be almost 2,000 police on the streets, LA city chiefs have admitted that it will be a big task for them.

“We may be overwhelmed,” the chiefs said.

Late on July 5, police were still waiting for a full list of the VIPs likely to attend the funeral.

“Our biggest fear is that it will all turn to violence if things aren’t handled properly,” a police chief said.

“It’s a recipe for disaster. We could have thousands roaming the streets and getting angrier and angrier.