Michael Jackson sells out all 50 U.K. gigs

LONDON, March 13 (UPI) -- Organizers of pop star Michael Jackson's shows at London's O2 Arena, set to begin in July, say all 50 scheduled concert dates are sold out.

The BBC said more than 1 million tickets to Jackson's "This Is It" London concert series have been sold.

The 50-year-old U.S. recording artist, who last toured 12 years ago, initially announced plans for 10 London gigs, but more were added due to the overwhelming response from fans.

"We never thought '50 shows' and frankly based on the queues on Ticketmaster, plus the 300,000 registrants we still haven't issued codes to (for online ticket buyers,) we could spend two years here," AEG Live's Randy Phillips told BBC Radio 1's "Newsbeat" program.

"Mike asked me how long he would be in the United Kingdom for and I told him, probably long enough to get a British passport," Phillips added. "Michael's already pretty much put together a list of the dancers he wants. Michael's very engaged now."

The BBC said some tickets to the Jackson shows are being re-sold on eBay for thousands of dollars apiece.