LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- Seventy days after his sudden death , Michael Jackson will be interred in what may or may not be his final resting place Thursday evening . A private funeral for Michael Jackson will be held Thursday in Glendale , California , his family says . Only his family and closest friends will attend the private burial starting at 7 p.m. PT ( 10 p.m . ET ) inside the ornate Great Mausoleum on the grounds of Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale , California . They 'll then drive to an Italian restaurant eight miles away in Pasadena , California for `` a time of celebration , '' the nine-page engraved invitation said . The first page inside the invitation holds a quote from `` Dancing the Dream , '' a book of essays and poems published by Jackson in 1992 : . `` If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same , then everything that happens in between can be dealt with . '' Gallery : Invitation for Jackson 's service » . The news media -- which have closely covered every aspect of Jackson 's death -- will be kept at a distance , with their cameras no closer than the cemetery 's main gate . The family will provide a limited video feed that will only show mourners arriving . Little is known about the planned ceremony , though CNN has confirmed that singer Gladys Knight -- a longtime friend to Jackson -- will perform . Her song has not been disclosed . The massive mausoleum , which is normally open to tourists , was closed Wednesday as preparations were completed for the funeral . A security guard blocking its entrance said it would reopen to the public on Friday . Fans of Clark Gable , Carole Lombard and dozens of other celebrities buried on the grounds have flocked to Forest Lawn-Glendale for decades , but Jackson may outdraw them all . It is unclear how close tourists will be allowed to Jackson 's resting place . Security guards -- aided by cameras -- keep a constant vigil over the graves and crypts , which are surrounded by a world-class collection of art and architecture . The Forest Lawn Web site boasts that the mausoleum , which draws its architectural inspiration from the Campo Santo in Italy , `` has been called the `` New World 's Westminster Abbey '' by Time Magazine . Visitors will see `` exact replicas of Michelangelo 's greatest works such as David , Moses , and La Pieta '' and `` Leonardo da Vinci 's immortal Last Supper re-created in brilliant stained glass ; two of the world 's largest paintings , '' the Web site says . Jackson 's burial has been delayed by division among Jackson family members , though it was matriarch Katherine Jackson who would make the final decision , brother Jermaine Jackson recently told CNN . He preferred to see his youngest brother laid to rest at his former Neverland Ranch home , north of Los Angeles in Santa Barbara County , California . That idea was complicated by neighbors who vowed to oppose allowing a grave in the rural area -- and by Jackson family members who said the singer would not want to return to the home where he faced child molestation charges , of which he was ultimately acquitted . The mystery of where Michael Jackson would be buried became a media obsession in the weeks after his death . After his body was loaded onto a helicopter at UCLA 's Ronald Reagan Medical Center hours following his June 25 death , it stayed in the custody of the Los Angeles County coroner for an autopsy . It was only later disclosed that Jackson 's corpse was kept in a refrigerated room at the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn cemetery until his casket was carried by motorcade to downtown Los Angeles for a public memorial service in the Staples Center arena . Again , speculation about Jackson 's whereabouts grew when the media lost track of his casket after his brothers carried it out of sight inside the arena . Though the family has not publicly confirmed where the body was taken , most reports placed it back at the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn while awaiting his family 's decision . Though Thursday 's interment may settle one Michael Jackson mystery , a more serious one remains . The coroner announced last week that he had ruled Jackson 's death a homicide . A summary of the coroner 's report said the anesthetic propofol and the sedative lorazepam were the primary drugs responsible for the singer 's death . Los Angeles police detectives have not concluded their criminal investigation and no one has been charged .
Note : Michael Jackson burial to occur at 7 p.m. UTC ( 10 p.m . UTC ) Jackson 's burial has been delayed by division among Jackson family members . Coroner announced last week that he had ruled Jackson 's death a homicide . No one has been charged in the pop singer 's death .