British fans of Michael Jackson will be able to attend the star's LA memorial service REUTERS

BRITISH Michael Jackson fans will be able to attend the star’s memorial service in Los Angeles, announcers have confirmed.

Thousands of fans were initially disappointed to read that only US residents could apply for tickets, which will be allocated to registered applicants at random.

"British fans can register for the memorial"

But a spokesman for the memorial’s organiser AEG Live said: "British fans can register for the memorial."

Clamour for tickets for the event, which will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, began as soon as details of how to register were announced.

The arena’s website temporarily crashed within moments of AEG chief executive Tim Leiweke announcing the opening of registration for the draw.

He said 17,500 free tickets will be available in pairs for Jackson's fans – 11,000 for the main service at Staples Center and 6,500 for the screening taking place at the nearby Nokia Theatre.

Other fans of the King of Pop will be able to watch Tuesday's event from their homes as organisers announced it will be broadcast around the world.

Registration at the Staples Center website will end at 2am Sunday (UK time), with the 8,750 successful applicants drawn at random and then notified by email between 7pm tomorrow and 4am Monday morning.

Leiweke said: "First off, our thoughts and our prayers are with the family, all of the Jackson family, and in particular with Michael Jackson's fans.

"It is the family's wish to create a service and a celebration that all of Michael's fans around the world can be part of.

"Thus, the family has made arrangements to provide a worldwide pool feed to every network for free.

"The family has also made available 17,500 tickets for Michael's fans to be part of this service."

No information was given about what the memorial service will involve or which celebrities might appear.

Jackson's legion of fans have been descending on Los Angeles since his sudden death at the age of 50 last week.

City officials told last night's press conference that they were encouraging people to stay away unless they had tickets for the memorial as strict checks would be in place.