LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson’s golden casket has been placed on stage at his public memorial service in downtown Los Angeles.

The casket was brought into Staples Center on Tuesday as a choir sang in front of a backdrop of stained-glass windows.

The public event followed a private service for family and friends in a cemetery hall in the Hollywood Hills.

Jackson’s flower-draped casket was brought to Staples Center in a motorcade under law enforcement escort.