LONDON, England – This should have been it. The night Michael Jackson returned triumphantly to the stage in London for the opening night of an epic farewell residency and his first concerts in a decade.

Michael Jackson fans write messages to the star on a whiteboard erected outside the O2 Arena.

The tragic pop star may not have made it back to the O2 Arena, the scene of his final public appearance to announce the “This Is It” dates back in February, but plenty of his fans turned up all the same to mark the moment, celebrate their hero and seek solace and comfort in the company of their fellow devotees.

During his life, Jackson's fans were notorious for - and took a certain pride in - their cultish loyalty to the performer. Perhaps it is no surprise therefore that to some Jackson has now become a kind of quasi-religious figure: martyred, misunderstood and mercilessly hounded to his sudden, shocking death.

“To me, because this was where he did the press conference, it was almost like his final performance was here,” said Morganna Bramah. “His final public speech was in this area, so it's a very spiritual place for us to come and pay our respects to the man.”

The 29-year-old Bramah had just returned to London from Los Angeles where she had hoped to attend last week's official memorial to Jackson at the Staples Center. Tearfully, she said the past two weeks had been a “spiritual pilgrimage.”

“I felt like I needed to do it because he has given to us so much and it's the least we can do to show the world how much he was loved, how much he was respected and how much we are going to miss him.”

Gemma White and Terry Shaw, from Kent in southern England, admitted they were both “still in denial” about Jackson's death.

“You can't explain the feeling of seeing Michael Jackson in person, even if it was for one brief second of him walking out of a building,” said Shaw, also just back from Los Angeles. “We came down here for Michael. It was the last thing we could do for him. It had to be done.”

Among the crowds leaving flowers, memorabilia and messages at a makeshift shrine outside the venue were many fans who, with tickets, flights and hotels already booked, had decided to come to London anyway.

“It's like coming to a family reunion where you meet your long lost relatives,” said Jessica Prater, 28, of Harlem, New York. “I'm really feeling the love and I know Michael is here in spirit. I can feel it.”

Italian pair Martin Russo and Enrico Ardifo said they had decided to come at the last minute when they heard about plans for a London tribute via Facebook. “He had a special bond with his fans. Michael cared truly for his fans,” Ardifo said.

Holding a handmade banner saying, “You will never be forgotten,” Sophie Bradley, 25, said she came to say thank you to Jackson. “I've flown in from the Middle East but I had to be here,” she said.

A Jackson fan since she was eight, Bradley said she collapsed when she heard the news of the performer's death.

“He was a father figure and a role model,” she said. “To some fans, it's just about the songs - but to the real fans he was about so much more than the music.”

LONDON, England - Torrential weather in London did not stop an outpouring of love from Michael Jackson fans attending memorials and visiting makeshift shrines across the capital Tuesday.

Fans gather at London's O2 arena to watch a live broadcast of Jackson's memorial.

Overlooked by the imposing dome at London's O2 Arena - the very spot where Jackson was to give his final 50 concerts this fall - several hundred fans watched a live broadcast of the star-studded memorial taking place in Los Angeles.

Twenty-one year-old "die-hard" fans Jenny Kemp and Miina Markkannen - who became good friends after meeting on a Jackson fan Web site - were obviously shaken as they spoke of their biggest idol. "I am still in denial. It really is like losing family," said Kemp, as rain splashed down on her Michael Jackson umbrella.

Both agreed that what they admired most in the pop star was his "gentle soul. He genuinely cared about other people."

Others at the event went as far as crediting Jackson with causing the thunder and lightning.

"Michael may have caused this weather because he is angry and wants to come back," said 22-year-old Jackson impersonator and life-long fan, Chris Doody.

Doody had bought three tickets to watch Jackson perform at the O2 Arena and said he would hold on to one "to remember this."

"His only weakness was his kindness," he added.

Standing beside Doody, fan Celeste Dixon said: "Michael IS the King of pop, not WAS. He is bigger than life and nothing will ever compare to him."

In central London crowds gathered outside the Lyric Theater, where flowers and notes written in numerous languages adorned the venues' outside wall. Lyric has has been showing "Thriller Live," a Jackson musical, since February 2009, and the audience for Tuesday's show had big hopes.

Jason and Claudia Li from Hong Kong had booked tickets for the show before the singer's passing and were very excited about the show: "It's very special to be here," said Claudia "and we hope the show's producers plan to make it even more special tonight."

A few meters down the road, more walls were filled with Jackson praise and love at another London theater hotspot, the Trocadero.

And in the usually frantic rush hour of London streets, cars with open windows calmly drove along to Jackson tunes like "Heal the World" and "You Are Not Alone."

LONDON, England – The biggest gathering in central London during the Michael Jackson memorial service was not to pay tribute to the King of Pop - but another icon of popular culture.

The biggest gathering in London during the Michael Jackson memorial service was to celebrate another pop culture icon - Harry Potter.

Fans of all ages massed in celebration of “Harry Potter” at the premiere of the sixth movie in the series "The Half-Blood Prince."

Some of the most fervent camped out all night, then braved showers and hail to snare the perfect position next to their idols on the red carpet at Leicester Square, home to London movie premieres.

There was little evidence of Michael Jackson's memorial service, which was going on almost simultaneously in LA - and several Potter fans said it was not a hard choice to make.

“No contest, it’s Harry Potter,” Megan Southey, 38, from Bournemouth, southern England told CNN. “You know, his funeral will carry on. I can watch it on TV later.”

Although most people said they were fans of Jackson’s music, the overarching feeling among the crowd was that events in Jackson’s later life had overshadowed his talents.

“I liked him when he was younger, probably,” said Vicky McKinley, 52, from Chicago. “Then later on, I didn’t like some of the stuff he was doing. All the plastic surgery and that kind of stuff.”

Catherine, 18, from Bromley near London echoed her sentiments saying, “I think he was a bit before my time, and all we’ve known him for are controversial issues.”

“He wasn’t so much famous for his music, he was famous for other things like holding the baby out of the window and stuff,” added her friend Emily, 18.

“I’ve got mixed feelings. He was very strange in later life,” said Amelia Robinson, 15 from New Hampshire in the U.S.

Of course, for younger fans like 19-year-old Faith Bradley from Cambridge, Harry Potter inhabits a place in pop culture that Michael Jackson holds for people who grew up in the 1980s.

“We’ve grown up with Harry Potter,” Bradley added.

NEW DELHI, India – His music and dance moves have woven their way into many cultures around the world - and India is no exception. Every now and then you can hear the unmistakable Michael Jackson track or beat seamlessly blend into India's Hindi pop music. Or catch a glimpse of some of Jackson crisp choreography in a Bollywood dance scene.

There was something universal about Michael Jackson, and that is being reflected in the way people around the world are mourning him. From Los Angeles to New Delhi, his fans seem to veer away from sadness and enjoy the invincible part of Michael Jackson - his music.

In a bar in New Delhi the Jackson memorial gathering was small - only a dozen or so people in a city of roughly 14 million. But it conveyed how the influence of one man had reached around the world.

On the wall of the Delhi bar that usually only plays hard rock, the King of Pop's music was blasting away, candles were lit underneath two framed pictures of Jackson and customers had written sweet messages saying goodbye.

Across the room, where framed pictures of rock legends hung on the wall an empty space was created. That space was set-aside as a permanent place for Michael Jackson’s pictures.

In a county where more than half the population is 35 or younger, the bar manager put it this way: "We all grew up with Michael Jackson. Other generations had The Beatles, or Elvis Presley. Michael is our generation."

(CNN) – He has all the hallmarks of the real Michael: The slim frame, well-powdered face hidden under a cocked hat, dark glasses, and the delicate swagger. He's a little shy too. 

WJ performs his MJ routine to members of the public.

"I'm grateful that my parents gave me this face," he says quietly.

29-year-old Wang Jie is China's most famous Michael Jackson impersonator. He told us to just call him "WJ."

WJ says he discovered MJ when he was a teenager and fell in love with his dance moves.

"I realized I looked like my idol by accident," says Wang. "So step by step, with a lot of hard work and study, I made it on stage. Now he's a part of my life."

Wang had no idea he would someday make a living from his looks. He has since appeared on Chinese TV shows and won contests.

I first saw Wang as he sauntered in with his "agent" to meet our crew. WJ quickly drew perplexed but fascinated Chinese crowds. If the real Michael Jackson hadn't just passed away, they might have thought it was really him.

It's when he started dancing that I really had to do a double take. Wang strutted and snapped his hips as if he'd learned from Jackson himself.

The real Michael Jackson never performed in China, but he's loved here nonetheless. Members of the official Michael Jackson Fan Club (yes, there is one in China) even rented a hotel room so they can watch his funeral broadcast live on CNN.

"I miss Michael Jackson even more. I adore him even more," said one die-hard fan.

"There are impersonators of Michael Jackson everywhere but I think they can only try to imitate him, never overtake him."

Jackson's music was some of the first Western music widely available in China. His rise to stardom coincided with China's opening up to the world. So, to the Chinese, he symbolized what was out there.

To this day, he still has a huge Chinese following. Clearly, through WJ and MJ fans throughout China, Jackson's music lives on.

ATLANTA, Georgia – The "rags-to-riches" story! Few of us haven't dreamed about it! Maybe one day lightning will strike and we'll be rich and be happy! But more often reality check strikes, a rags-to-riches tragedy, like the Michael Jackson story. When it hits, it makes us wonder, why aren't people who have so much going for them happy?

The thing is that riches place you in a whole different league, a place where some can’t make it.

I learned about that from an old friend who came into money. It was not a "King of Pop" kind of fortune, but still her newly earned "riches" put her in a different league. She never felt comfortable in that world of wealth. She told me she saw some people get ruined by their financial success.

But my friend's story has a different ending. Because she found a way to be happy in her new circumstances. Her answer was to stay grounded in her old world.

She clung to her old friends but had to make a few adjustments. People from her old circles couldn't afford her lifestyle. It meant toning down her spending and spreading the wealth, just enough, to avoid making her friends uncomfortable. That's worked for her. 

Michael Jackson never had the benefit of my friend's "old circles," the friends before success struck. You know, the ones who keep you grounded and tell you the truth, no matter what. 

Jackson was a star since he could remember. I once heard him describe how, as a child being driven to a rehearsal, he wished he could join the kids playing outside.

He never had a life beyond show business to develop the kind of relationships that helped my friend survive financial success AND be happy.

HONG KONG, China - When Michael Jackson first announced he would be doing 10 shows in July – his “This Is It” concerts – in London starting on July 8, I thought the opportunity to see him live was too good to pass up.

In this photo provided by AEG/Concerts West, Jackson rehearses for the “This Is It” tour on May 6 in California.

OK, so he was 50 years old and maybe not at his prime - and suppose he cancels?

But I’d like to think I would have tried to see Elvis if he were giving what was billed as his “last concert” back in the 1970s. That wouldn’t have been possible for me, since I was three when the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll died.

So this was my chance to see the King of Pop.

I registered for the Michael Jackson presale in March, and when the sale window arrived a week later I tried to get four – then three – then two – then, OK, one, just one ticket – please!  I played a Michael Jackson CD hoping it could help my purchase sail through, given that my previous attempts had crashed because of the system overload.

As if trying to alleviate the frustration for many Michael Jackson fans, an email arrived from AEG with the subject line: “Michael Jackson Presale – Keep Trying!” And try I did until I got through with a single ticket for Sunday July 12, the third concert.

I was going!

My seat was Section BK 417, Row Q, Seat 850 at The O2.

I even bought a ticket to the “This is It! Michael Jackson: The Aftershow” party.

(Total cost, with service charges: 88 British pounds or US $145.)

By the next day, 40 shows had been added through next year, with special hospitality packages offered to include champagne and red carpet VIP check-in on arrival, DJ and entertainment, goody bag and souvenir tour laminate, parking and Thames Clipper tickets and pre-show and after-show parties.

In May, two months after purchasing the concert ticket and one week after buying my plane ticket from Hong Kong to London, I got a “Dear Customer” letter from Ticketmaster/AEG Live that the opening four shows, including July 12, were rescheduled. The first concert on July 8 would be bumped to July 13, while the others, including mine, were bumped to the end of his concert engagement – next March.

The reason given, along with apologies, was to “meet the challenges presented by such a large and technically complex concert.” The rescheduling coincided with rumors that week that Jackson was being treated for skin cancer.

Last Monday, I got another email from AEG Live, with the subject line, “Michael Jackson – Urgent Reminder,” that the July 12 concert has been rescheduled to March 3.

No email from AEG Live came on the day of his death three days later, however. That would not come until Saturday, with subject line, “Michael Jackson – The O2 – Cancellation Information (Please Do Not Reply).” It offered AEG’s condolences to Jackson’s family and friends and noted that full ticket refund information would be given soon.

My plane is still taking off this Friday. And I’m still going to be on it.

I haven’t gotten official information from AEG, but if it’s a choice between a refund or a commemorative ticket, I’ll take something tangible to remember Jackson by. I had wanted to see his last concert.

NEW DELHI, India - It was a concert backed to the hilt by Indian politicians otherwise opposed to "Western culture."

It was Michael Jackson's first and only show in India in its commercial capital of Mumbai.

Jackson performing in Mumbai.

Amid a row about tax concessions the pop icon landed in the home of Bollywood cinema on October 30, 1996.

It was around 9 a.m. local time and some 10,000 fans had crowded outside the airport, recalled Sabbas Joseph, director of Wizcraft, the company that organized the concert.

Bollywood actor Sonali Bendre, clad in a saree, gave a traditional Indian welcome to him, as a group of artists danced to drumbeats.

The excitement was such that most airport staff abandoned their posts to have a glimpse of the “King of Pop” as he walked out to the cheers of the thousands assembled at the main entrance, Joseph recalled.

He addressed them with the Hindu greeting of "Namaste" from a makeshift podium, before he got into his open-top car and traveled along a route lined with thousands more fans.

Among them were Mumbai's slum kids and the singer would often jump out to cuddle them, Joseph said.

Jackson spent the evening of his first day in India meeting the who's who of Mumbai - from Bollywood stars to captains of industry and politicians - at a banquet.

On his second day he met the slum children again.

This time at poolside in his hotel for a photo shoot that Joseph remembers was for a calendar the entertainer was making in honor of the children of the world.

Jackson also sought blessings from Mother Teresa as he spoke with her on phone, his show organizer said.

But all these activities didn't exhaust him for his big night in Mumbai.

On November 1, 1996, he chose to drive down to the concert venue. No matter, if it meant spending an hour on the congested roads of Mumbai.

Around 20,000 fans packed the stadium as the singer made a spectacular appearance on stage - a touchdown from a specially-designed rocket capsule.

"It was incredible," recalled Joseph. Thousands chanted his name while some fans even fainted. The two-hour show created history in India's entertainment world. Revenues for the sold-out concert were staggering - $1 million.

But organizers say the money is still with the court where a petition was filed against the then state government for exempting the show from entertainment tax.

"Michael Jackson had come to India ahead of India's time," remarked Joseph. "India was a different country 13 years ago."

LONDON, England – The call came at 10:30 p.m. Thankfully (for our editor), a bunch of us were chatting in a bar nearby work. We rushed back to the newsroom, the whispered rumour snapping at our heels as we raced through the backstreets of Soho. “Is it true? Is it true?”

Yep, it was true. We hit the news desk as Michael Jackson was confirmed dead.

The team got on the phones and the social networks for immediate reactions. Did they know at Glastonbury? Did they know on Twitter?

I headed out to the central London streets. At Oxford Circus underground station, the workmen were nonplussed. “Didn’t like his music.” “He was a pedophile,” they told me.

On London’s Regent Street, fans were kinder. While Samuel told me it was a stunt - “I heard he got bankrupt and all that so I thought he’d done a Tupac [Shakur].”  His girlfriend, Amber, said, “I was so upset it was unbelievable. I had tears in my eyes.”

Outside the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, the home of “Thriller Live,” Jackson fan Asmara told me the American singer’s music had meant a lot to her family. “Our parents listened to it, our parents’ parents and us, so it’s a tragedy,” she said.

Heading toward Leicester Square, London’s late-night hub, we met Jenny, a Jackson fan from Houston, Texas, and her friend, Julie, from Michigan. Jenny was keen to defend Jackson against the allegations that had slurred his career. “I think he had a horrible life and people wanted to twist it around. I think Michael Jackson’s innocent.”

Julie told me, “Michael Jackson was a great person … he was the ‘80s. It’s sad that he’s gone. He’ll be missed.”

Then my cameraman’s ears pricked up: Someone was playing “Billie Jean” nearby. We headed to Lisle Street, where Luis Carlos Ameida and friends were playing Jackson tunes from their car, in tribute to the fallen star. Luis had tickets to see Jackson at his sold-out run at the O2 stadium in London. Sending his condolences to Jackson’s family, he told us how much he’d been looking forward to seeing the pop superstar in the flesh.

“That would be the first time I ever met Michael Jackson, you know. I was going to scream,” he said. “But he will always be in our hearts. Every music he played. It will be remembered by us.”