Did You Know? Beirut Held a Mass Moonwalk for Michael Jackson Back in 2009

With all the hype around the new Michael Jackson movie, we thought we’d bring you a major throwback from Beirut in 2009.

Long before streaming and viral trends, Michael Jackson was already a global phenomenon. With record-breaking albums and legendary performances, he shaped pop culture for decades and earned the title King of Pop for a reason. His music, dance moves, and style reached every corner of the world.

The King of Pop’s death shook the world (if you were old enough to remember it…or were even born), and Beirut felt it too. So much so that people decided the best way to honor him was with a mass moonwalk in the heart of Gemmayze on June 26, 2009.

About the event

The event was posted on Facebook, so we unfortunately couldn’t find the original poster. All we could find was tweets from 2009 hashtagged #BeirutMoonWalk:

Reuters ended up covering the event as part of their photo series titled Dancing in Tribute, which featured people around the world dancing in his honor following his death.

via Jamal Saidi for Reuters

via Jamal Saidi for Reuters

We also found a few photos posted by one of the attendees:

via plus961.com

via plus961.com

There’s something about this era of Beirut that is so nostalgic. For those who don’t know Michael Jackson’s impact on the world, his music was the track of daily life. Especially for late 90s and early 2000s kids, whose parents were already obsessed with the King of Pop, so we grew up listening to him too.

via plus961.com

Make sure to check out the #Nostalgia and #Did You Know? sections on our website for more content like this. You can now watch the biopic in VOX Cinemas, Cinemacity, and Grand Cinemas. Here’s the official trailer: