Michael Jackson has, as expected, this afternoon announced details of a ten show residency at the O2 Arena in London set for this summer.

The concerts were revealed at a press conference at the venue, which Jackson attended but was over an hour late for.

Speaking to the assembled fans and press, an obviously overwhelmed Jackson announced that they would be his last live appearances, calling them his “final curtain call”.

He told fans he “loved them” while continually signalling to the crowd and putting his hand on his heart.

The shows will start on July 8, tickets will go on sale via pre-sale on March 11 and then on general sale at 7am on March 13.

Fans can sign up for the pre-sale by visiting michaeljacksonlive.com and the tickets will cost between £50-£75.

Earlier in the day AEG CEO Tim Leiweke told Billboard that fans can expect more than the initial ten shows announced and that the deal for Jackson to perform had taken two years to negotiate.

He said: "We’ll announce 10 shows. I think you'll see 20, 25 dates at the O2. His production budget is... Wow.

"Despite everything you read about him, he was fine," added Leiweke. "The man took a physical for us to go do these concerts."

"We spent two years working with Michael trying to get him comfortable with this.”

Speaking about the choice off venue, Leiweke went on to say: "It's the most important venue in music today. With all due respect to the Staples Center and the [Madison Square] Garden, the O2 is where you went to see Led Zeppelin reunite."

(by Daniel Melia)