Michael Jackson Fans 'Will Get Full Refund'

Fans with tickets for next month's Michael Jackson shows at the 02 arena will get a full refund, Sky News Online understands.

Officially the venue will only say that customers should hold on to their tickets and wait for more details.

But Sky sources say that all 750,000 fans will get their money back.

A spokeswoman for the venue said full details of the refund policy would be announced shortly.

"Ticketholders should keep hold of their tickets and we will announce ticketing details in due course," a spokeswoman said.

Tickets for the The This Is It tour went on sale in March and sold at a rate of 11 per second, making it the fastest-selling tour in history, according to the online ticket sales website Ticketmaster.

Hundreds of fans queued at the venue for tickets - and a quarter of a million people waited online.

Ticketmaster described it as "the busiest demand for tickets for an event we have ever experienced".

The tour was due to launch on July 8 but was put back to the 13th after the singer said he needed more time to rehearse.

Reports he had skin cancer were denied by the singer's camp.

Fans were offered a full refund but many complained they had already booked flights to come over to the UK.

Tickets went on sale for between £50 and £75.

But they have been changing hands for hundreds of pounds above their face value on the website eBay.

That means many fans who paid more than the face value for their tickets will lose money.