MJ & Friends were two stadium concerts held by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson in 1999, with numerous other performers as well, including Slash of Guns N' Roses. The purpose of the concerts were to raise funds for children in Kosovo, Africa and elsewhere. Jackson held two concerts during the festival. The first one took place in Seoul, South Korea on June 25 (exactly one decade before his death) and the second one was in Munich, Germany.
Background Munich bridge accident At the Munich concert, while performing "Earth Song", the middle section of the bridge collapsed after ascending into the air. Jackson climbed out of the pit that the mechanism landed in, and continued the song without missing a beat. The guitarist Slash was front and center on the main stage at the time: he also continued his performance without missing a beat, while dashing upstage to safety. Jackson finished the concert, but was taken to the Rechts der Isar Hospital afterwards. He suffered a damaged spine, a sprained ankle, shock nerves and slight burns on his arms. None of the fans, crew or backup performers were injured. The crash was confirmed to be a mechanical failure from the crane, according to Kenny Ortega, director of the shows.
The same stunt had been performed without the incident at the first concert in Seoul.
Millennium concerts On December 31, 1999, and January 1, 2000, Jackson was scheduled to perform at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, USA and at Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia. These plans were later cancelled.
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenue June 25, 1999 SeoulSouth KoreaSeoul Olympic Stadium June 27, 1999MunichGermanyOlympiastadion
Cancelled dates DateCityCountryVenueDecember 31, 1999SydneyAustraliaStadium AustraliaJanuary 1, 2000HonoluluUnited StatesAloha Stadium
Personnel
Band members Musical director: Brad Buxer Assistant musical director: Kevin Dorsey Keyboards: Isaiah Sanders, Brad Buxer Drums: Ricky Lawson Guitar: David Williams, Slash Bass: Sam Sims
Vocals Vocal director: Kevin Dorsey Vocals: Kevin Dorsey, Dorian Holley, Romeo Johnson
References
See also Philanthropy of Michael Jackson