Oprah taping will shut down Michigan Ave.

Oprah Winfrey is shutting down a stretch of Chicago's Magnificent Mile next week as she hosts a free party open to the public with the Black Eyed Peas to celebrate the kickoff of the 24th season of "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Harpo Productions said Tuesday that Winfrey expects "thousands" of people to attend the Tuesday event, which will have a stage erected at the base of the bridge over the Chicago River and extend north with two blocks of audience members. The company said Tuesday that it would cover all costs for police, paramedics and sanitation.

"When they contacted us obviously it was something the city was very excited about," said Megan McDonald, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Special Events. "This was approved on the condition that they must cover all city service fees the city would bare."

Harpo Productions will hire its own security team inside the event, some with metal detecting wands. Chicago police will patrol the perimeter and outside the event, McDonald said. She said the number of officers necessary would depend on crowd size.

The Winfrey event is a smaller scale than other, larger, events the city hosts annually, including the Chicago Marathon, Taste of Chicago and the Lollapalooza music festival, McDonald said.

Mayor Richard Daley said the taping will give Chicago global exposure and create jobs.

"This is a great thing we're doing, I wish we could do this every day in the city of Chicago," Daley said Tuesday morning. Harpo announced the event Monday evening.

The city says three blocks of Michigan Avenue will be closed from 12:01 a.m. Monday through 5 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, although sidewalks will be open. Chicago Transit Authority buses that run on Michigan Avenue will be rerouted.

"People will still be able to get where they need to go," McDonald said. "That was a priority for us. That was critical."

General admission to the taping begins at 12 p.m. Tuesday on a first-come, first-serve basis and will close when the event reaches capacity. Harpo Production advises overnight camping is not allowed.

Winfrey's celebration comes just weeks before the International Olympic Committee will announce if Chicago will have the winning bid to host the 2016 Summer Games. In April, Winfrey attended a dinner for visiting members of the IOC at the Art Institute of Chicago.

And during last year's season premier of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," 6,000 fans crammed into Chicago's Millennium Park as Winfrey celebrated more than 170 American Olympic medalists from the Beijing Games.