Madonna tour: Singer promises ‘one of a kind experience’ as 2023 Celebration shows begin at London’s 02

Madonna’s latest tour is set to kick off in London tonight (Saturday 14 October) and fans are being promised a “one-of-a-kind experience” which staff say has “no band on stage” and a setlist featuring “about 45 songs”.

The Celebration Tour, which is set to cover her greatest hits over the Queen of Pop’s more than four decade-strong career, will officially kick off on Saturday at The O2 in London, where she will play four sold-out dates.

Ahead of her first gig tonight, the iconic singer, who recently celebrated her 65th birthday,  shared photos on her Instagram stories on Friday enjoying an evening with her son David Banda, Stella McCartney and talent manager Guy Oseary, as well as visiting her son Rocco Ritchie’s art exhibition.

In June, Madonna postponed the original start date of her latest tour in Canada after Oseary announced that a “serious bacterial infection” led to the music artist having a several-day stay in intensive care.

The Material Girl singer, who sparked a TikTok squat challenge inspired by one of her famous dance routines, then posted on Instagram in July, saying she was focusing on “health and getting stronger” and mentioned that the plan was to “reschedule the North American leg of the tour and to begin in October in Europe”. Entertainment company and ticket provider Live Nation then confirmed new dates in August.

‘I hope to give fans the show they have been waiting for’

The tour is billed as paying homage to the city of New York where her career in music began. “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for,” Madonna said in a statement before the tour.

Madonna’s musical director Stuart Price told BBC News the tour is “a documentary through her vast career” that includes more than 40 songs. He said “greatest hits” can encompass her wardrobe as well as “video, or a statement”. Price added: “There are live musicians that perform at different parts of the show . . . but what we realised is that the original recordings are our stars. Those things can’t be replicated and can’t be recreated, so we decided just to embrace that.”

Special guest RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bob The Drag Queen, whose real name is Caldwell Tidicue, is set to perform across all dates. Her further London tour dates are tomorrow (Sunday 15 October), Tuesday (17 October) and Wednesday (18 October). All of the dates are sold out.

Madonna, who is the most successful female artist in UK chart history with 13 chart-toppers, has a huge back catalogue which includes her early successes 1985’s Into The Groove and 1986’s Papa Don’t Preach along with her latest hits 2008’s 4 Minutes featuring Justin Timberlake and 2006’s Sorry.

Following her London show, the singer moves onto her European leg which includes venues in Denmark, Belgium and Spain, before returning to the UK for two more concerts in London in December. She will perform at London’s 02 Arena again on Tuesday 5 December and Wednesday 6 December. Tickets for these shows are still available and can be on the Live Nation website.

Madonna will start the North American leg of her tour on Wednesday 13 December in Brooklyn, New York, before she travels to cities including Boston, Toronto and Miami. She is expected to finish at Mexico City in Mexico which she is set to be in across four dates from April 20 to April 24 2024.