Michael Jackson's ceremony

It was not spectacular, extravagant or bizarre. There were songs and tears but little dancing. Instead, Michael Jackson's memorial was a sombre, spiritual ceremony that reached back for the essence of the man.

Singer, dancer, superstar, humanitarian: That was how the some 20,000 people gathered inside Los Angeles Staples Center arena on Tuesday, and untold millions watching around the world, remembered Jackson, whose immense talents almost drowned beneath the spectacle of his life and fame.

If there was a shocking moment, it came in the form of Jackson's daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, who made the first public statement of her 11 years.

Speaking after tributes from Jackson's brothers, Jermaine and Marlon, Paris said she wanted to talk and struggled only slightly with adjusting the microphone to her height.

"Speak up,'' her aunt Janet Jackson said softly, just as Paris began to talk.

"Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father I could imagine,'' she said, dissolving into tears and turning to lean on her aunt Janet.

"I just want to say I love him so much.''

A day of sombre but star-studded ceremonies for the music superstar got under way shortly after 8.15am on Tuesday (0115 AEST Wednesday) as Jackson's family gathered for a private service at a picturesque mortuary in the Hollywood Hills

As the ceremony ended, pallbearers carrying Jackson's golden casket swathed with red flowers emerged and loaded it into a black hearse, under the watchful eye of mourners and around 20 media helicopters hovering overhead.

A motorcade of luxury vehicles then made a stately procession to the Staples Centre, where family, friends and celebrities rubbed shoulders with ordinary fans who had won tickets via an online lottery.

A bazaar of T-shirts, buttons, photos and other memorabilia sprouted in the blocks around the memorial. Movie theatres played the service live and people paused around the world to watch.

Inside, however, the atmosphere was church-like, assisted by the enormous video image of a stained glass window, with red-gold clouds blowing past, that was projected behind the stage.

The service got under way with soul legend Smokey Robinson reading letters of condolence from stars and world leaders unable to attend, which included a tribute from former South African president Nelson Mandela.

"Michael was a giant and a legend in the music industry. And we mourn with the millions of fans worldwide,'' Mandela's tribute read.

Motown diva Diana Ross meanwhile - named by Jackson in his will as an alternative guardian to his children - said she had chosen to mourn privately.

"Michael was a personal love of mine, a treasured part of my world, part of the fabric of my life,'' Ross's tribute said.