Earlier this week it was rumored that Michael Jackson was planning a series of concerts at London’s 02 Arena. However it’s Jacko, and you can never really be sure what’s going on with him. A butterfly could land on his hand and break his arm, preventing him from going to court. Imagine what could get in the way of a concert. But the King of Pop held a massive press conference today (he was an hour and a half late; no word on the excuse) in which he confirmed the rumors, saying that he would play a series of 10 concerts. He called them his “final curtain call.”

Michael Jackson returned to the spotlight Thursday after eight years marked more by scandal than by song and told a crowd of screaming fans that he would play a series of London engagements – his first concerts since 2001.

Wearing his trademark sunglasses and a silver-embroidered black military-style jacket, the King of Pop said his series of shows in July will be his “final curtain call” in the British capital.

“This is it,” Jackson said in a brief statement punctuated by the squeals of fans who gathered inside the massive O2 Arena in southeast London. “And when I say this is it, I mean this is it.”

Although Jackson said the shows would be his last in London, his statement left the door open for further concerts elsewhere. Promoter AEG Live told the BBC the shows might be part of a bigger, final world tour. An hour and a half late, Jackson appeared at the O2 – where the series of 10 concerts are due to be staged this summer – to announce the gigs.

More than 300 journalists had been marshaled to capture the event, even though news of the concerts had leaked out to the media days before. A telegenic army of screaming fans was there to greet their star – although many in the crowd said they were there to catch a live show due to play shortly after the announcement.

[From the Huffington Post]

Ouch to that last comment. I think that was meant as a dig. While Jackson hasn’t performed in concert since 2001, he hasn’t gone on a concert tour since the HIStory World Tour from September 1996 – October 1997, when he did 82 concerts in 58 cities. So if he were to actually expand the London shows into a worldwide farewell tour, it’d be his first in 11 years. Something tells me that would take a level of endurance (and lack of hypochondria) that Jackson just can’t muster anymore.

It’ll be interesting to see how these concerts go, and if he can in fact deliver. Obviously the man’s still got his fans. But he’s also got some powerful neuroses working against him. I don’t think you can sing properly on stage while you’re wearing a surgical mask. Though he does seem to have dropped that habit lately.

It could be a really dramatic show – from the pictures below, it looks like even the press conference was quite the theatrical event. There appears to have been quite a lot of wild gesticulating, impromptu dance moves, and more than one Nixon impression. I can only imagine what Jackson will be like when he gets on stage.

Images thanks to WENN.com and BauerGriffinOnline.