LONDON: Pop megastar Michael Jackson is in talks with concert organisers for a comeback series of up to 30 live shows in London this year, a source close to the negotiations told AFP on February 21.

The source, on anonymity, confirmed media reports that the 50-year-old ‘King of Pop’ could be set to play his first major concerts since his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.

London’s O2 arena is reportedly competing with resort hotels in Las Vegas for the right to host the shows, which could net the icon up to £150 million, reports said.

If the deal is confirmed, it would be a spectacular return to the limelight for Jackson, who dominated pop with hit albums like Thriller and Bad in the 1980s but has virtually vanished from public view since his trial.

“It will be the greatest comeback in the history of pop and there would be no problem selling out the O2 every night,” a source told Daily Mail. “No one is concerned about his reputatio, people don’t feel it is a risk. Organisers are confident people will come from all over the world to see him.”