Michael’s head of security Bill Bray retires after 26 years by his side. Wayne Nagin takes over his position.
Jonathan Spence gets married at Neverland Valley Ranch. Michael is not able to attend because he is in Europe.
January 2 : Michael arrives in Hawaii where he is welcomed by 150 local dancers + 200 fans. He soons joins Joe & Katherine who came especially for him.
January 3 : Concert at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu (Hawaii), United Stades. Many family members attend the show including Katherine & Joe.
January 4 : Concert at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu (Hawaii), United Stades. Many family members attend the show including Katherine & Joe.
January 9 : Michael arrives at London’s Heathrow Airport wearing a Metropolitan Police badge on his jacket . He declines to talk to reporters.
Mid January : Michael goes to Montreux, Switzerland with Frank Cascio, to complete work on the “Blood On The Dance Floor” compilation. He stays at the Fairmont Montreux Palace and spends two weeks at the Mountain Studios recording the songs Blood On The Dance Floor and Elizabeth I Love You with Matt Forger. He also visits the Chaplin Family.
January 21 : Katherine’s father, Prince Scruse, dies at the age of 90 years old.
January 24-Febuary 1 : Michael goes resting at Disneyland Paris with Frank Cascio & Omer Bhatti.
He changes his management team by replacing Sandy Gallin with Tarak Ben Ammar from Kingdon Entertainment.
February 4 : Michael goes to a courtroom in Rome to testify that he didn’t steal Will You Be There from Italian artist Al Bano.
February 10/11/12 : Michael shoots the “Blood On The Dance Floor” short film in Los Angeles. The short film is directed by Vincent Patterson and Michael himself.
February 13 : Debbie Rowe gives birth to Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, first child of Michael, at the Cedar Sinai Medical Center of Los Angeles. Michael attends the birth and then takes his son to Neverland. Grace Rwaramba and Pia Bhatti are hired as Prince’s nannies. Pia moves to Neverland with her husband and their kids Shasta & Omer.
February 15 : Michael rehearses for Elizabeth Taylor tribute.
February 16 : Michael attends “Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Taylor: A Celebration of Life” gala held at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. He arrives on the red carpet with Elizabeth and they pose for pictures. For the occasion he performs a song that he just recorded in Montreux called “Elizabeth I Love You” and gets a standing ovation by the galaxy of stars attending the event. The show is filmed and airs on February 27, 1997 on ABC.
Late February : Michael hosts a Jackson Family Day at Neverland to introduce Prince to the clan. Janet who is in studio in Minneapolis can’t attend the party. LaToya is not invited.
March 18 : Michael’s attorneys Zia Modabber & Steve Cochran announce that a jury in Santa Maria has dismissed the complaint of five former employees of Neverland who claimed they were fired because “they knew too much”…
March 21 : Michael attends a Sony Conclave in Marbella, Spain where he is presented with a special award from Sony Music, for 100 million singles sales internationally outside the USA, since his first solo career album with Epic Rec in 1979.
The BOTDF single is released. The song becomes a top ten hit in almost every European Union state. “Blood on the Dance Floor” peaks at number one in the UK, Spain and New Zealand, charting for 11 weeks in the latter two nations.
March 25 : British magazine OK gets a world exclusive by publishing the first ever official pictures of Michael & Debbie with their son Prince accompanied by a candid interview of the couple. The photoshoot took place earlier this month at Neverland with photographer John Isaac.
April 2 : The “Blood On The Dance Floor” short film is premiered on VH1.
Early April : Michael arrives in Paris with Grace & Prince. They stay between the Royal Monceau hotel and a private apartment in L’Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière, then called the Carré d’Or. The private residence is now a luxury hotel adjacent to the famous Fouquet’s restaurant on the Champs Elysées.
Michael rehearses for the second leg of the History Tour at the Disneyland Paris parade rehearsals studios.
Michael attends a représentation of Michel Legrand’s Passe Muraille at Théâtre des Bouffes Parisien in Paris.
April 12 : Back from History Tour’s rehearsals at Disneyland Paris, Michael has a private meeting with one of his French fan Feisal at the staff entrance of his George V hotel.
April 19 : Michael attends the innauguration of his wax statue by french artist Mime Marceau at the Musée Grevin in Paris . He is accompanied by his new Manager Tarak Ben Ammar.
May 2 : Michael arrives in Munich, Germany with Tarak Ben Ammar. He is presented with a plaque from soccer club 1860 Munich, as well as a blue and white soccer-shirt saying ‘Michael Jackson’ on the back, at the Munich Olympic Stadium. MJ attends a press conference for the History Tour at the Munich stadium.
May 3 : Michael visits his former tour promoter Marcel Avram in a Munich jail.
May 5 : Michael & Tarak Ben Ammar attend the Italian TV Award Ceremony Telegatti in Milano where Michael presents an award with Luciano Pavarotti. Michael works on a duet project with Pavarotti Called “What More Can I Give”.
May 6 : Michael flies to Cleveland, Ohio, to be inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in a special Presentation with His bothers by Diana Ross & Berry Gordy! Joe, Katherine & Barry Gibb are also present at the event. Randy does not attend the presentation.
May 7 : Michael flies back to Europe.
May 8 : Michael discreetly visits a toy store in Juan-les-Pins, about twelve kilometers from Cannes. Around 10 a.m, Pascal Perrault, the owner of the King Kong store, is surprised to see two bodyguards entering his shop from a car, followed by a man with his face wrapped in an orange veil, his eyes hidden behind black glasses. Once inside, the man takes off his glasses; it is Michael Jackson, who came to buy a toy for his young son, Prince, who stayed at the hotel in Cannes!
Later, Michael attends a midnight private presentation of his “Ghosts” short film at the Cannes Film Festival. He climbs the lengendary steps of the Palais des Festivals with Stan Winston & Tarak Ben Ammar among others.
May 14 : The “Blood On The Dance Floor” compilation is released worldwide.
Late May : Prince Michael Jr is taken to a Paris hotel suit where he is taken care by his nannies Grace Rwaramba and Pia Bhatti. Michael joins him after each concert of the European tour. Debbie also flies every week end to spend time with Michael & their son.
Michael’s appearance in an MTV commercial for the 1997 European leg of his “HIStory World Tour”, with a “Don’t try this at home” line, airs.
May 27 : Michael goes to Warsaw in Poland to study a project of amusement park for Kingdom Entertainment. He visits the Willanow Palace with Marek Kwiatkowski, Then he visits the Stefana Batorego high school. At night, Michael and Marcin Swiecicki attend a Chopin recital by pianist Bart Kominek at the Stanislas theatre. After the recital, Michael is presented with the city’s key by the mayor of Warsaw, Marcin Swiecicki.
May 28 : Michael meets Poland’s first lady Jolanta Kwasniewska at the presidential palace. Then he visits the Bristol hotel. Later he meets mayor Marcin Swiecicki at the City Hall. Later he visits a children’s hospital. Michael flies to Wroclaw, fourth city of the country with Marielle Tourel and Marek Kwiatkowski. He quickly takes an helicopter to Lubiaz, in order to visit the Abbey. A former Silesian Cistercian abbey located near the village, the monastery, which dates from the 12th century, is the largest Cistercian building in the world. In the evening, Michael flies to Bremen, Germany,
May 29 : Michael makes a visit at the mayor of Bremen, Germany “Hening Scherf” and greets the fans before going to do his soundcheck at the stadium for his HIStory World Tour.
May 31 : Michael kicks off the European leg of the History Tour at the at the Weserstadion in Bremen, Germany.
June 3 : Concert at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany.
June 6 : Concert at the Weserstadion in Bremen, Germany.
June 7 : Michael arrives in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He checks in Sofitel Legend The Grand.
June 8 : Concert at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
June 10 : Concert at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
June 13 : Concert at the Nordmarksportfeld in Kiel, Germany.
June 14 :Michael attends the 30th anniversary of Phantasialand in Cologne with Anton and Francesca Schleiter.
June 15 : Concert at the Parkstadion in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
June 17 : Michael attends “The Three Tenors” in Modena, Italy, the 3 tenors being Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. MJ is introduced as a guest of Pavarotti’s and is seated in the front row of the audience.
June 18 : Concert at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy.
June 20 : Concert at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne, Switzerland.
June 22 : Concert at the Krakelshaff in Bettembourg, Luxemburg.
June 24 : The stormy six-year marriage of singer LaToya and Jack Gordon is officially over. The divorce is granted in Clark County Family Court.
June 25 : Concert at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France.
June 27 : Concert at the Parc Des Princes in Paris, France. Debbie Rowe attends the show.
June 29 : Concert at the Parc Des Princes in Paris, France. Debbie Rowe attends the show.
July : The double single “History”/”Ghost” is released in Europe.
July 01 : Michael, still considering buying a castle in France to settle there (he had already visited the Château de Pierrefonds a year earlier), arrived at the Château du Champ de Bataille in the late afternoon, accompanied by Debbie Rowe, and Elisabeth Dauchy (whom Michael called Isabelle), the president of a large French investment company. Located in the heart of the Norman countryside, in the Eure department, near Le Neubourg, about 115 kilometers from Paris, the château owes its name, according to the most common legend, to a great battle that took place on the site in 935, which secured the independence of Normandy.
July 2 : Concert at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, Austria. Debbie Rowe attends the show.
July 4 : Concerts at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany. Debbie Rowe attends the show.
Back at this hotel in Munich, Michaels is injected with Propofol by two Germain doctors to help him get some sleep. Debbie is there.
July 6 : Concert at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany. Debbie Rowe attends the show. This concert is filmed for a planned DVD release. The film was never released due to MJ being unimpressed by his vocals brought on by laryngitis. In 2010, TV channels such as RTL 5, ZDF, WOWOW, and Veronica TV broadcast the Munich concert in HD, and those broadcasts can be found on YouTube. This broadcast contains footage mostly from the Munich July 6th show, but it has some snippets from the first Munich show (July 4th) and a large snippet of the Leipzig show (August 3rd) during the Jackson 5 Medley speech.
July 09 : Concert at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, United Kingdom. Debbie Rowe attends the show.
July 11 : While a pregnant Debbie returns to L.A , Michael goes to London where he is joined by his ex wife Lisa Marie!
July 12 : Concert at the Wembley Stadium in London, United Kindom. Lisa Marie Presley ans Katherine Jackson attend the show.
July 15 : Concert at the Wembley Stadium in London, United Kindom. Lisa Marie Presley ans Katherine Jackson attend the show.
July 17 : Concert at the Wembley Stadium in London, United Kindom.
July 19 : Concert at the RDS Arena in Dublin, Ireland.
July 25 : Concert at the St. Jakob Stadium in Basel, Switzerland.
July 27 : Concert at the Stade Charles-Ehrmann in Nice, France.
August 1 : Concert at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany.
August 3 : Concert at the Leipziger Festwiese in Leipzig, Germany.
August 10 : Concert at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Germany.
August 14 : Concert at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark.
August 16 : Concert at the Ullevi stadium in Gothemburg, Sweden.
August 19 : Concert at the Valle Hovin in Oslo, Norway.
August 22 : Concert at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn, Estonia.
August 24 : Concert at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinski, Finland.
August 26 : Concert at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinski, Finland.
August 29 : Concert at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Michael 39th birthday. A huge cake is presented to him on stage!
September 1 : After hearing the tragic death of his friend Princess Diana, Michael cancels his concert in Ostend.
September 3 : Michael performs in Ostend, Belgium at the Hippodrome Wellington. He dedicates the rescheduled concert to Princess Diana.
September 6 : Last concert of the European tour at the Estadio José Zorrilla in Valladolid, Spain.
September 7 : Michael gives an interview for US TV show 20/20 with Barbara Walters from his Parisian hotel. The interview is aired on September 12 on ABC.
September 8 : Michael returns to Neverland with Grace & Prince Michael Jr.
September 13 : Michael attends a public funeral service for Lady Diana at a Los Angeles church, St. James Episcopal Church.
October : Michael shoots for a commercial for the “Esonic Video Discbaby”, one of the first portable video disc players.
October 1 : Michael arrives in Cape town, South Africa with Omer Bhatti.
October 2 : Michael arrives in Cape Town (South Africa), with Omer Bhatti, Katherine & Joseph.
October 04 : Concerts at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. Nelson Mandela and his family attend the show.
October 06 : Concerts at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. Nelson Mandela and his family attend the show.
October 7 : Michael, Omer, Katherine & Joseph visit Nelson Mandela’s home. Later Michael is best man at his friend Gerry Inzerillo ‘s wedding to Prudence Salomon at the American Ambassador’s House in Bishopscourt, Cape Town, in South Africa.
October 8 : Michael, Omer, Katherine & Joseph arrive in Johannesburg. Lisa Marie Presley and her children Riley and Benjamin join them.
Michael and his entourage stay in Sun City. Sun City is a luxury resort and casino, situated in the North West Province of South Africa. It is located between the Elands River and the Pilanesberg, about 140 km (90 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, near the city of Rustenburg. The complex borders the Pilanesberg National Park. It is made up of a number of themed sub-resorts with hotels on each, including the original Sun City Resort, The Cabanas, The Cascades and the Lost City (The Palace).
While in Sun City, Michael meets Philip et Roslyn Cohen and their two sons. The beginning of a lifelong friendship.
October 9 : Michael, Omer, Lisa Marie & her children Riley & Ben visit Waterworld in Sun City, South Africa.
October 10 : Concert at the Johannesburg Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
October 11 : Michael is made an honorary member of the Bafokeng Ka Bakwena African tribe (the people of the crocodile) in the village of Phokeng, located about a thirty-five minute drive south of Sun City. Katherine, Joe, Omer Lisa Marie and her children attend the ceremony. That same day, Michael is invited to spend some time in Danie de Jager’s studio in Hartbeespoort, in the North West province, halfway between Johannesburg and Sun City.
October 12 : Concert at the Johannesburg Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
October 15 : 82nd and last concert of the History World Tour at the Kings Park Stadium in Durban, South Africa.
October 16 : Michael Leaves Africa and goes back to Neverland with Omer Bhatti, Lisa Marie and her children Riley & Ben.
October 31 : Dr Sasaki performs surgery on Michael to reduce the width of his scar on the scalp.
November 18 : Michael arrives in Seoul, South Korea but he does not stay in the Korean capital. He heads to the Muju Ski Resort in the central part of the country. The Muju Deogyusan Ski Resort is a renowned mountain resort nestled within the Deogyusan Mountain National Park in the North Jeolla Province (Jeollabuk-do), approximately three hundred kilometers south of Seoul. Michael and Kingdom Entertainment, the entertainment company he created in 1996 with Prince Al-Waleed, are reportedly interested in acquiring the station and transforming it into an amusement park
November 21 : back in Seoul, Michael holds a press conference alongside presidential candidate Kim Dae-Jung. The meeting, lasting about thirty minutes, takes place at the offices of Kim Dae-Jung’s Asia Pacific Peace Foundation, which the Korean politician founded in 1994. After answering questions, the two men exchange gifts. Kim Dae-Jung presents Michael with a calligraphy piece created in his presence (the meaning of which is unknown). In a video conference room at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, the two men also participate in a satellite interview with George Soros, an American-Hungarian philanthropist, and Mickey Kantor, former U.S. Trade Representative, aiming to support the Korean politician’s candidacy. Michael stated, “Korea is a warm country, full of love, sincerity, and complete innocence.”
November 22 : Still with the idea of investing and creating his theme park, Michael visits Jeju Island in the south of the country. The island is located in the Sea of Japan, specifically at the western end of the Korea Strait, eighty-three kilometers from the Korean Peninsula.
November 23 : Michael flies back to Los Angeles.
November 25 : Debbie Rowe gives an interview to KNBC filmed at Neverland where she denies tabloid rumors of an affair between Michael & Lisa Marie & announces that she is pregnant with a baby girl that she & Michael want to name Paris Michael Katherine. In the interview, we can see Michael and Prince at Neverland.
Late November : Michael goes in a Los Angeles studio to record the song Children’s Holiday for Japonese group J-Friends.
Michael & Prince Michael Jr are on the cover of LIFE magazine. The photoshoot took place recently at Neverland with photographer Harry Benson. In the interview Michael speaks about Lisa Marie : “But there is one subject to which Michael repeatedly returns during four hours of conversation and picture-taking: Lisa Marie Presley. Michael’s voice quickens, even quavers, when he speaks of Lisa Marie. How she enjoys the baby. How they are still close after an amicable divorce. How they frolicked overseas the month before. He seems to pine for her. “Lisa Marie was just with me in Africa,” Michael says. “We (went to) IMAX theaters, simulated-ride safaris, dinner. We went parasailing. It was wonderful.” Even Debbie has acknowledged that Michael is still smitten. “He cares about her very much, but it didn’t work out and he was devastated,” she has said. “He loved her very much. Still does.” When asked if Lisa Marie has ever expressed second thoughts about not having been the one to bear his son, Michael insists, “She regrets it. She said so.” Would she still consider having a kid with him? “She’d like to, yes,” he says putting a mischievous finger to his lips. “Shh.” And there, on one nightstand, rests a framed photograph of Lisa Marie. Not a recent snapshot. Or even a formal portrait. But a picture apparently cut out of a magazine, placed as a child would place it, cockeyed, in a frame meant to hold a photo twice its size. A picture of Elvis and is little girl, then only five years old.” This is the age,” Michael says, “when I first met Lisa Marie. When her father first came to my concerts. I’ve known her ever since.”
December : Sony cancels the release of History’s last single “Smile” at the last minute.
A box set is released in Europe containing the “Ghost” short film on VHS + the unreleased song “On The Line” from the Spike Lee movie soundtrack “Get On The Bus”.
Tarak Ben Amar decides to part ways with Michael.
December 17 : Michael visits british boxer Prince Naseem at a gymnasium in New York. While in New York , he meets Puff Daddy to speak of a possible collaboration together.
December 20 : Enid Spann Jackson, Jackie’s ex wife and mother of their children Siggy & Brandi tragically dies of a brain aneurysm in a movie theater bahhroom. The Jackson family gather at Hayvenhurst to support Siggy & brandi.
December 24/25 : Michael celebrates Christmas at Neverland with Grace, Prince, the Cascios & the Bhattis. Debbie Rowe, who is five months pregnant, visits them
Late December : Michael attends the funerals of Enid Jackson & Lilian Disney (widow of Walt Disney).
December 31 : Michael writes a letter to Kim Dae-jung to congratulate him on his election. In the letter he writes : “”For my part, I plan to include a Korean singer in my new “What More Can I Give” recording which will be the theme song of my Benefit Concertto help the children of North Korea. I think such a participation of a Korean singer will help restore the pride of the people of Korea”.
Jackson Dynasty 