Please note this article was not written by MJVibe | MUNICH, GERMANY: A memorial set up in Germany by some of Michael Jackson’s most ardent fans the day after his sudden 2009 death has come under threat in a strangely emotional turf war.
Rival factions enamoured with the King of Pop beyond the grave are locked in a bitter battle over who tends best to the American singer’s memory, in a spat that has at times even turned violent.
Authorities in the southern city of Munich, where Jackson was a frequent guest at the plush Bayerischer Hof hotel, say the memorial may have to go to keep the peace. A letter this month from the Bavarian state culture ministry in the tone of an exasperated parent warned that “if peaceful coexistence between the different groups of fans behind the Michael Jackson memorial is not possible, the memorial will unfortunately have to disappear”. Just opposite the hotel’s entrance is a statue of Renaissance composer Orlando di Lasso that Jackson devotees have commandeered as a shrine for the eccentric entertainer.
Its pedestal is smothered in pictures documenting Jackson’s startling physical transformation over his four-decade career, flags from the fans’ countries of origin, flowerpots and fresh bouquets with lovingly drawn cards. One of the top-selling recording artists of all time, Jackson died aged 50 on June 25, 2009 from a lethal overdose of sedatives as he was readying to give a series of concerts in London. The superstar was a frequent visitor to Germany, where he had one of his largest and most devoted fan bases. In one of his more perplexing public appearances, the pop icon held his youngest son Prince Michael II out of the window of a Berlin hotel in 2002 in front of hundreds of fans. Nevertheless, the outpouring of emotion set off by Jackson’s passing continues unabated in Germany six years on, and the mood has grown increasingly fraught, even hysterical.
“We tolerated this memorial until now but have heard from the police about disputes among fans and there have even been criminal complaints,” a spokesman for Bavaria’s culture ministry, Henning Giessen, told AFP. One such complaint, for bodily harm, was filed by the president and founder of the Munich-based fan club MJ’s Legacy, Nena Snezana Akhtar. She accuses a rival Jackson enthusiast of throwing a glass votive candle-holder at her. Berlin’s daily Tagesspiegel called it a “guerrilla war” fuelled by “a lot of Prosecco”. “For some time, a group of four people has come together to rally against our work,” said Akhtar, who makes a daily pilgrimage to the shrine to tend to it. “They remove our decorations, take down our posters and crush the flowers we plant.”
Michael’s Message
Not surprisingly, the opposing camp, which runs a Facebook page called MJ Memorial Munich, tells a different story. “The organisation MJ’s Legacy thinks that it has exclusive permission from the city to decorate and maintain the memorial,” said one member, Bettina Alder. “(Akhtar) is doing everything she can to get us out of here but a lot of fans (from MJ Memorial Munich) don’t agree and want to keep coming.” Until now, attempts to mediate between the warring sides have proved fruitless. Although the memorial never received formal approval by the Munich or Bavarian state authorities, no one has moved to dismantle it. Over the years it has become a kind of quirky landmark and a must-see stop for foreign tourists. But if the police are called again to break up a dispute, the memorial will likely have to vanish. “If that happens, I’ll be very, very sad,” said Mila Bulj, a pensioner and member of MJ’s Legacy, tears welling up in her eyes. “We can continue getting together and accepting money for our charity work but I would miss the memorial so much.” Beyond maintaining the shrine, the group does fundraising for causes that were close to Jackson’s heart, such as child cancer patients. Inspired by the singer’s much-espoused dream of a world at peace, one fan who gave his name as Elmmi admitted that the shrine had perhaps caused more strife than it was worth. “It’s not that important to have posters or a monument to remember him by, especially when they cause problems,” he said. “The important thing is to keep spreading Michael’s message.”
SOURCE: NDTV
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If you ask me, this is craziness and this is exactly why the public have negative connotations of Michael Jackson! Yes! Some fans are NOT helping! This whole situation is unacceptable and frankly it seems best to close down the memorial site and give it back to its first purpose to the Munich people! Has it ever been considered that we would not be happy if fans of another artist did this to a monument of Michael?!
There are so many more important matters in this world than fighting over sticking pictures on to a memorial for someone else. Your vanity has taken over a nice gesture and is throwing a negative spotlight on to the behaviour of Michael’s fans. Many of us work hard to demonstrate that there is nothing strange about being a fan of the greatest entertainer in the world, yet when people witness the petty childish squabbles of grown adults it only serves to suggest we’re all like that and incapable of functioning beyond rationality.
No Michael Jackson fan has the monopoly on that statue, it’s not even there for him, yet fans have been given allowances (generously I might add) by the local authorities, something they’re now abusing. It’s time to stop with the childish behaviour. These google print outs, glittered artworks and decaying candles need to go. This is not a classy way to honour someone who always strived for the best and frankly he deserves better. If all this energy from the petty squabbles were put in to constructive actions, a really, personal, professional memorial could be created in Munich for Michael. Other fans have managed this around the world to great success, it’s time those involved in this latest chaos took a long hard look at the individual in the mirror.
What’s your view on this matter?? Express yourself in the comment box below.
The Munich memorial has been seen by friends of mine, but not by me. I hope that, whenever I am eventually able to make it to some of the European MJ site, this wonderful fan mural will still exist. Come of folks, get your sh*t together. You are letting down fans all over the world.
The article itself is extremely snarky toward Michael “eccentric entertainer” “startling transformation” they speak of dying from overdose of sedatives but absolutely No mention of manslaughter conviction of Conrad Murray who killed Michael… … The behavior of these two warring groups is indeed a shame and hardly in keeping with the principles promoted by Michael jackson … it is extremely unfortunate that physical confrontations and egos have prevented the two groups from working together.. It is not indicative of most Michael fans however, and hopefully with the threat of taking down the memorial all together will make the particpants in this “war of fans” stop and think about what it is they are trying to achieve.
I just don’t understand it! Why are they fighting for??? This is not even a MJ Statue! It’s somebody’s else! A Musician as well! Will Michael like that? Don’t think so! Maybe those 2 groups of women could put their efforts towards building a real MJ memorial and not taking over someone’s elses by putting tacky pictures and flowers? Will not that be better? Then fights over right? I am just so chocked that the authorities let that happened for 6 years! If it was in London, it would have been removed after a week! Don’t get me wrong, the charity work some of them do is great but I think the way they over run that statue is not right! Not just munich though, it’s everywhere in Europe the same. Michael was a grown up! Let’s stop the childish attitude, the tacky artwork pictures and the flowers! We are not 5 anymore! And you are right! Michael deserve so much more than just a photocopy picture of himself attached to a statue or a tree!
Whilst I feel it is a shame some fans can’t agree I do think it would be nice for Munich to have an actual statue of Michael where they can all leave their cards, flowers etc. He really deserves one. I am visiting Munich in October and hope the shrine will still be there until a real one can be sculptured. I agree with MJJJP that the article is written negatively towards Michael, the media still hasn’t learned its lesson:>(
[…] posters, photos, poems to the base of the famous composer. However, some disputes between fans [as per our article back in July 2015] put lights on the memorial and the real purpose of the statue. A legal action has been taken and […]