On 5 March 2009, Michael Jackson walked onto a small stage at the O2 Arena in London. He was about 90 minutes late — his van had gotten stuck in traffic in a tunnel — and around 7,000 fans and 350 reporters were waiting for him.
He said very little. But what he did say became one of the most famous lines of his life.
“When I say this is it, it really means this is it.” Then: “This is the final curtain call.”
After everything he had been through — decades of tabloid chaos, a criminal trial, years out of the public eye — it is hard to blame him for wanting it to be the last time. He had not toured since 1997.
Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ O2 Press Conference
The original plan was ten shows in London. It did not stay that way.
The response was unprecedented. More than 1.5 million fans tried to buy pre-sale tickets, crashing two websites within minutes. 750,000 tickets sold in four hours. So the promoters added more dates—then more—until the run grew to fifty.
Michael reportedly learned about the extra forty shows when he woke up one morning to the news. By several accounts, he was angry and worried he wasn’t physically strong enough for a schedule that size.
Michael Jackson “This Is It” Rehearsal Footage
It fits a pattern that ran through his whole career. He loved performing, but touring was different. Back in 1984, Rolling Stone reported that he didn’t want to do the Victory Tour with his brothers at all and only agreed out of loyalty to his family. He announced his retirement from the group at the final show.
He rehearsed hard for This Is It anyway. The people in the room said he was focused, funny, and full of energy. The footage of those rehearsals became a film.
He never played a single one of the fifty shows. He died on 25 June 2009, less than three weeks before the first night.
He said this was it. He was right, in the worst way.