Jenni Rivera: Fans ready for sold-out memorial at Universal CityWalk

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Family, friends and fans prepared to celebrate singer Jenni Rivera at a public memorial Wednesday morning at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk.

The memorial -- declared a ‘Celestial Graduation’ by Rivera’s family -- is to be held from 10 a.m. to noon. Free tickets to the venue, which can hold more than 6,100 people, were quickly snatched up after they were made available earlier this week.

‘We will celebrate the graduation into heaven, with honors, of our beloved mother, daughter and sister Jenni Rivera,’ the family said in a statement.

WATCH LIVE: Jenni Rivera memorial and ‘celestial graduation’

The family asked for privacy and discretion for a private burial that will be held separately.

Rivera’s children asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Jenni Rivera Love Foundation.

Some media reports had said that a public memorial would be held at the sports arena in Long Beach, but the city issued a statement Monday saying that no official Jenni Rivera events were scheduled there.

PHOTOS: Fans remember Jenni Rivera

The Mexican American banda singer and six other people were killed Dec. 9 when a Learjet 25 crashed near Iturbide, Mexico. Though an investigation into the crash is ongoing, Mexican authorities have told reporters that they believe her plane dropped 28,000 feet at speeds that might have exceeded 600 mph.

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-- Adolfo Flores and Kimi Yoshino