Michael Jackson sells out 50 concerts in five hours

Around 1 million tickets for the concerts in July and next January had sold out by 11:45 a.m., after going on sale at 7 a.m., said Natalie Whorms, a spokeswoman for Outside Organisation, publicists for AEG Live, which operates the O2.

Jackson fans swamped the Ticketmaster Web site today and stood in line through the night.

The 50-year-old "King of Pop" will play the 20,000-seat venue near Docklands. The 02 has hosted comebacks by artists such as Prince, who staged 21 concerts, and was the venue of the Led Zeppelin reunion in 2007.

"There were a quarter of a million people in the online queue for tickets, and 1,000 fans waiting outside this morning," said Whorms. "People have flown in from as far away as Bahrain," she said in a telephone interview.

About 360,000 tickets were bought in the presale period that ended last night, with 33 seats sold each minute, the concert promoters said.

Fans could register in advance at http://www.michaeljacksonlive.com/ for tickets. Ticketmaster's Web Site warned of waiting times as demand rose.

The shows will start on July 8 and run through September before resuming in January and February of 2010.

While tickets were announced as costing between $70 and $105, plus a booking fee, the Jackson site also points at Viagogo's site with prices of about $700 for a pair. Tickets are appearing on EBay at $5,075 a pair.

The singer, who has sold more than 750 million records and won 13 Grammy Awards, agreed to debt refinancing in 2006 to stave off bankruptcy. In 2005, he was cleared of charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy. His last series of concerts was the HIStory Tour in 1996-1997 and his last studio album was"Invincible" in 2001.

Jackson also has released greatest-hits compilations, such as "King of Pop" to mark his 50th birthday, and new editions of his bestselling albums, such as "Thriller 25," on the 25th anniversary of that record's release.

The singer hasn't said whether he plans concerts elsewhere.