One year after Michael Jackson’s untimely death, fans around the world gathered to remember the star.

In Tokyo, 50 mourners won the right to spend the night at a Michael Jackson exhibition, surrounded by some of his possessions including tour costumes and his 1967 Rolls Royce. Others remembered the star with a candlelight vigil and gospel concert.
In New York, fans gathered at the famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem, where Michael and his brothers won an amateur competition in the sixties. A plaque was unveiled honouring the star alongside existing plaques for James Brown and Smokey Robinson.

In Los Angeles, fans left bouquets and handwritten notes on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Buses full of sightseers pulled up outside the Beverly Hills home from where, exactly one year ago, he was rushed to hospital.

Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, attended a memorial service in his hometown of Gary, Indiana, and unveiled a monument to her son in the garden of the home where he grew up. This past year has been very hard on the family," she told the wellwishers. "If it wasn't for the help of all of you, we wouldn't have made it through."

Brothers Jermaine and Tito were among family members who visited Michael’s final resting place at the Forest Lawn cemetery in LA. A 100-foot banner which read ‘The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, Gone Too Soon’ was unfurled by fans who gathered at the entrance, and a flock of white doves was released as the family departed the cemetery.

Michael died suddenly on 25 June 2009 aged 50.