LOS ANGELES – Tokyo resident Chi Sato loved Michael Jackson so much that when she heard his memorial service would take place at a Los Angeles arena, she flew with two fellow fans across the Pacific.

After waiting for a day outside the venue for news, organizers urged fans to stay home and watch Tuesday's service on television – and restricted a free ticket raffle to residents of the United States.

"Oh no, you mean it's useless to wait here?" Sato, who speaks limited English, said with dismay on learning of the developments. "I really, really love Michael Jackson."

Fearing a stampede for the pop superstar's final sendoff, organizers said they would distribute 11,000 tickets to fans randomly selected through a website. Los Angeles authorities vowed to prevent others from entering.

The site received a jaw-dropping 500 million hits – nearly twice the population of the United States – in only an hour and a half.

AEG, the concert promoters which own the Staples Center venue, also barred residents of the US states of Florida, New York and Rhode Island from applying from tickets due to legal restrictions on raffles.

Asked whether fans that flocked from abroad would be accommodated, AEG spokesman Michael Roth said: "I'm not sure it's prudent to invest in a flight until you know tickets are available."

But many were not heeding the advice.

Thierry Marceau, a performance artist, flew from Montreal to Los Angeles where he dressed up like the King of Pop in a slender black suit, dark sunglasses and a black scarf concealing his face.

"I had tickets to go see him in London so I decided to come here," said Marceau, referring to a 50-date set in the British capital which Jackson had planned starting this month.

"Things are getting a little crazy here, so I thought this was the time to come."

Police held back dozens of fans chanting, "Michael! Michael!" across the street from the outdoor news conference to announce the memorial service.

Araceli Benitez Arzate, a Mexican librarian, drove across the border overnight to be part of the excitement, without knowing if she would get a ticket.

"I'm not really a huge Michael Jackson fan but I had nothing else to do, so I came up here," she said.

For others, attending the Michael Jackson memorial was much more personal.

Solange Rodrigues, 26, said she had been up all night following news about Michael Jackson's death, so decided instead to fly from Boston to Los Angeles with her fiance.

"It's definitely worth it," she said. "I loved Michael Jackson growing up and I never had the opportunity to see him in public."

Kimberly Vega, 18, who grew up watching her family's old VHS video of a Michael Jackson concert, first went with her mother to Neverland, the King of Pop's fantasy estate north of Los Angeles, and now to the Staples Center.

The Jackson family has quashed plans for a public service at Neverland, which could have seen thousands of people descending on an isolated stretch of tony Santa Barbara wine country.

"It may be more structured having it here, but I think Michael would have wanted it at Neverland. That was his home," Vega said.

"It's very discouraging. He was such an amazing person, and a very giving person," she said. "All we want to do is to tell him, Michael, wherever you are, thank you."