Madonna is to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her breakout single, Holiday, by embarking on her first ever greatest hits tour.
The pop icon will perform music from her entire career, from 1983’s self-titled debut album to 2019’s Madame X.
The 35-date Celebration Tour will see also her return to arenas and stadiums after the experimental, theatre-based Madame X shows in 2019 and 2020.
BBC – January 17, 2023
Some of those shows were called off as the star battled knee and hip injuries.
The final 10 dates in Paris were then cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
When and where is Madonna playing?
Announcing the new tour, the star said: “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible, in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for.”
A press release said the concerts “will take us on Madonna’s artistic journey through four decades and pays respect to the city of New York where her career in music began”.
The tour will kick off in Vancouver, Canada, in July, with dates in New York, Barcelona, Paris and Stockholm before it wraps up in Amsterdam on 1 December.
Only one date has been announced for the UK so far, at London’s O2 Arena on 14 October. However, her schedule is clear for a week on either side of that date, suggesting more shows will be announced when the initial dates sell out.
Tickets for the Celebration tour go on sale at 10:00 local time on Friday 20 January, with pre-sales for fan club members starting on Tuesday 17 (North America) and Wednesday 18 (Europe).
In selecting the setlist, the 64-year-old singer-songwriter will have no shortage of songs to choose from.
She has scored 63 top 10 hits in the UK, including 13 number one singles, from Into The Groove (1985) and Like A Prayer (1989), to Vogue (1990) and Hung Up (2005).
Speaking to the BBC in 2017, the star explained why she had sometimes avoided those classics on previous tours.
“Some songs I’m sick of doing and I don’t want to do them,” she said.
“So if I did Material Girl on the tour before, or Express Yourself on the tour before, then I’ll say, ‘OK, I did that for 88 shows. I can’t do it again.'”
Her 2004 Reinvention concerts are the closest she has previously come to a formal greatest hits tour.