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August 2009

Celebration Premieres on iTunes as Free Download for 48 Hours

Monday, 31 August 2009
Madonna’s hotly anticipated new video for her 'Celebration' single will have its exclusive world premiere on the iTunes store as a free download for two days beginning Tuesday, September 1, 2009. Madonna is a multi-award winning visionary in the realm of video performance. The 'Celebration' video, which contains mind-boggling dance moves, reaffirms yet again her reputation as the master of the 'short movie.' The video will be available for purchase on iTunes on Thursday, September 3rd.
The 'Celebration' video, directed by long time Madonna creative collaborator Jonas Akerlund ('Ray of Light') was filmed recently in Milan, Italy and features the Material Girl dancing with her amazing troupe of performers from her current 'Sticky & Sweet' Tour. The video also includes cameo appearances by Madonna’s daughter, Lola Leon and model/DJ Jesus Luz.
Simultaneous to the video debut, Madonna’s definitive greatest hits album, 'Celebration' which has been totally remastered and includes two new songs, can be pre-ordered on iTunes.

From BusinessWire.com - thanks to Simon

Posted at 06:00 PM in Celebration | | Comments (17)

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Madonna makes nocturnal visit to Western Wall

Monday, 31 August 2009
American pop icon Madonna sparked a media frenzy when the Kabbalah follower paid a visit to the Western Wall, Judaism's top pilgrimage site in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Wearing high heels, blue jeans and a black jacket, the music diva was accompanied by several bodyguards and followed by dozens of photographers during her visit to the wall late on Sunday.
The 51-year-old landed in Israel on Sunday aboard a private jet and is due to give two concerts in Tel Aviv as part of her Sticky and Sweet tour.
During her visit, the singer will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, his office said, and opposition leader Tzipi Livni.
A fervent practitioner of Kabbalah, Madonna is also due to attend a symposium on the study of Jewish mystic discipline along with fellow Kabbalists, US actress Demi Moore and her husband and fellow actor Ashton Kutcher, local Israeli media said.

From AFP Via Yahoo! News

Posted at 06:00 AM in General News | | Comments (0)

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Madonna arrives in Israel

Sunday, 30 August 2009
Madonna arrived in Israel this morning (Sunday 30 August) ahead of the final two dates of the Sticky & Sweet Tour in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and Wednesday.

madonnalicious reader Michael sent in these pictures he took of the stage being constructed at Park Hayarkon.

Posted at 08:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (1)

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Madonna Rocks Sofia in Biggest Concert on Bulgarian Soil

Sunday, 30 August 2009
US pop star Madonna rocked the Bulgarian capital Sofia Saturday night from 10 pm until 12 am in her first ever concert in Bulgaria.
Some 60,000 fans filled the Vasil Levski Stadium in downtown Sofia in what is the largest musical event of its kind to ever take place on Bulgarian soil.
The concert started shortly after 8 pm and the crowd was warmed up with various disco beats and mixes for about an hour.
Instead at 9 pm as advertised earlier, Madonna appeared on stage at about 9:55 pm. In the one hour before that the eager fans entertained themselves with more than 150 audience (Mexican) waves.
Madonna's amazing show that the 60,000 Bulgarians and foreigners saw in Sofia featured a look-alike of Michael Jackson, performing the famous moon walk. The King of Pop who died at the end of June 2009, would have celebrated Saturday, August 29, 2009, his 51st birthday.
In addition to her to top hits, Madonna's concert also included messages for religious tolerance and civic activism - something to which the Sofia audience responded with great cheers and enthusiasm.
One of the more provocative moments of the concert was when Madonna French kissed another woman - one of the dance performers on the stage.
Despite the concert's truly exciting atmosphere the audience failed to summon Madonna for any curtain calls after the huge screens on the 85-meter long, 40-meter high stage said 'Game Over'.
A total of 450 security personnel - the largest such number ever employed in Bulgaria for a single event - were in charge of keeping Madonna's concert in Sofia in order; police were largely not visible until the very end of the show when they helped regulate the exits and the routes to the closest public transport and subway stations. No accidents have been reported during the concert.

From Sofia News Agency (novinite.com)

Posted at 04:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (1)

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Gypsy trio criticizes crowd for booing Madonna

Saturday, 29 August 2009
A Russian trio performing Gypsy music with Madonna said Friday they were 'pained' to see the pop star booed during her Bucharest concert for criticizing widespread discrimination against Gypsies.
Thousands of people applauded the trio's performance with Madonna in Bucharest on Wednesday night during her worldwide 'Sticky and Sweet' tour. But minutes later they booed and jeered the pop star when she said discrimination should end against eastern Europe's Gypsies, also known as Roma.
In a press conference Friday in Bucharest, Vadim Kolpakov, the youngest member of Kolpakov Trio, said the public reaction was unexpected.
'The audience was wonderful when we played,' he said. But he called the booing and jeering 'the worst' reaction the Roma group had received during the entire tour. 'Madonna was surprised (about the reaction) but I cannot comment for her,' Vadim Kolpakov said, declining to say if Madonna had made a similar comment about Gypsies at other concerts in eastern Europe.
'We want....to be recognized as equals,' said trio founder Sasha Kolpakov, a Russian Roma.
'It pains me to see discrimination in the world, it pains me to see discrimination of Roma,' Sasha Kolpakov said. 'There are good Roma people that we are proud of. There are also Roma who live in poverty and who have nothing to do, who beg or do illegal deeds.'
Roma are a nomadic ethnic group believed to have their roots in the Indian subcontinent. They live mostly in southern and eastern Europe, but hundreds of thousands have migrated west over the past few decades in search of jobs and better living conditions.
Romania has the largest number of Roma in the region. Some say the population could be as high as 2 million, although official data put it at 500,000.
The Kolpakovs said discrimination against Roma exists not only in eastern Europe but in the West too.
'We played in Italy and met Roma representatives in Milan. We heard there's a big problem (in Italy),' said Vadim Kolpakov, adding that he thought discrimination against Roma was increasing in Europe. 'I think it is going up,' he said, mentioning the killing of six Roma in Hungary and the burning of Roma caravans in Naples, Italy.
Kolpakov Trio will travel with Madonna to Bulgaria and Israel - the last two destinations on her tour. The Kolpakovs are Roma, while the band's third member is a Russian Jew.

From AP Via Yahoo! News

Posted at 08:00 AM in Tours | | Comments (0)

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Madonna explains Gyspy comments

Friday, 28 August 2009
Madonna has said she was 'compelled' to comment on the discrimination of Romany Gypsies while on stage in Romania, despite being booed by fans.
The 51-year-old was jeered by the audience in Bucharest after saying the discrimination 'made me feel very sad'.
Publicist Liz Rosenberg said Madonna made the comments after being made aware of the prejudice towards Romany people in eastern Europe.
The star uses a group of Roma musicians on her Sticky and Sweet tour.
Madonna paused during her two-hour show to say: 'It has been brought to my attention, that there is a lot of discrimination against Romanies and Gypsies in general in Eastern Europe - it made me feel very sad.'
'We don't believe in discrimination, we believe in freedom and equal rights for everyone.'
The star then received more boos when she mentioned prejudice against homosexuals and others.
Rosenberg said Madonna had told her there were cheers as well as jeers from the 60,000-strong crowd.
'Madonna has been touring with a phenomenal troupe of Roma musicians who made her aware of the discrimination toward them in several countries so she felt compelled to make a brief statement,' she added.
Concert goer Ionut Dinu, 23, said: 'I jeered her because it seemed false what she was telling us. What business does she have telling us these things?'
Romania has the largest number of Roma in eastern Europe.
Nearly half of Europe's estimated 12 million Roma claimed to have suffered an act of discrimination over the past 12 months, according to a recent report by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency.
The agency says Roma face 'overt discrimination' in housing, health care and education.

From BBC News

Posted at 06:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (2)

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Will Madonna Perform at the Video Music Awards?!

Friday, 28 August 2009
Madonna may be 51, but don't you dare think for even a second that she's too old for MTV.
There's a rumor flying around that the Queen of Pop will perform her new single 'Celebration' at next month's Video Music Awards in New York City.
Those set to perform during the show, which takes place Sept. 13 at Radio City Music Hall, include Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Pink, Taylor Swift, Green Day and Muse.
Madonna's rep insists there are no plans for the VMAs this year. But let's say it does actually happen - would she be able to top some of her most memorable past appearances?
Who will ever forget Madge swapping spit with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in 2003?
And for those of us old enough to remember, Madonna first made her mark at the VMAs way back in 1984, when she rolled around the Radio City Music Hall stage in a white wedding gown and matching lacy gloves while performing 'Like a Virgin.'
'Celebration' is the title track of Madonna's upcoming greatest hits compilation. The VMAs certainly would make the perfect venue to promote the new release, as it drops Sept. 29.

From E! Online - thanks to Matthew

Posted at 02:00 PM in Gossip | | Comments (3)

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Madonna defends Gypsies in Bucharest

Thursday, 27 August 2009
Thousands of fans have booed pop star Madonna after she spoke out against the discrimination of Gypsies in eastern Europe during one of her concerts.
Madonna paused in the two-hour concert to say that Gypsies, also known as Roma, were discriminated against in eastern Europe. She said that made her 'sad' and nobody should be discriminated against.
Thousands in the crowd of 60,000 booed her. She did not react.
Roma musicians and a Roma dancer were featured in her show, held just yards from the giant palace of ex-communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Their performances were applauded by the crowd.
There are officially some 500,000 Roma in Romania, but the real number could be around 2 million. They face prejudice and discrimination in Romania and other east European nations.

From AP Via Yahoo! News

Madonna stated in full:
'I've never been to Romania before and I am happy to be here, but I found out that there is a lot of discrimination against gypsies in Eastern Europe and that makes me very sad, especially because we believe in acceptance, gypsies, homosexuals, people that are different. Everyone must be treated the same, don't forget that.'

Posted at 06:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (9)

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Scenes from Bulgaria concert to be filmed for DVD

Thursday, 27 August 2009
A special crew will film parts of the Sticky & Sweet Tour concert in Sofia on Saturday 29 August, the Bulgarian promoter said today.
The footage will be included in the DVD for the tour. It's likely the moment filmed will be connected with the Michael Jackson tribute, who would have turned 51 on the night of the show.
At the same time fans from Michael and Madonna's biggest fan club - mmlegends.com are hosting a special iniative for the show. During the MJ tribute they will wear a white glove on their hands. And also - they are having a special 'Sticky & Sweet' version of the national flag, created by their member marcello, and also have three very touching surprises for Madonna during the concert. The last one will involve more then 1000 fans in the gold circle.

Thanks to Nikolay

Posted at 02:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (2)

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Sticky & Sweet Tour: Belgrade Fan Pictures - Part 2

Wednesday, 26 August 2009
madonnalicious reader Milorad was at the Usce Park Sticky & Sweet Tour show in Belgrade on Monday 24 August and shares these pictures and reports with us.

She was in such a good mood, she was smiling all the time. She was talking all the time. She said: 'This is for the beautiful Serbian people' before 'She's Not Me', and 'No one's gonna stop me ever except you!' at the very end.

Posted at 10:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (0)

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Celebration: CD and DVD Tracklisting

Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Warner Bros. Records has confirmed the final track listing for Madonna’s upcoming 'Celebration' CD - The 'Ultimate' Compilation - and 'Celebration the Video Collection DVD' - both scheduled to be released on September 28/29th. The songs which were selected by Madonna and her fans have all been exquisitely remastered. 'Celebration' will be available as a two-CD set as well as a single CD.
The 'Celebration Video Collection DVD' will include unedited and never before seen footage of 'Justify My Love' along with 27 Madonna videos to be released on a DVD compilation for 'the very first time' including 'Into The Groove' and 'Give It 2 Me' as well as the just completed video of Madonna’s new single 'Celebration.'
Madonna clearly continues to rule the dance floor with her latest single. Her 'Celebration' Remix EP is #1 on iTunes Dance Album chart as well as #1 on the Masterbeat overall chart. The song is #5 on Billboard’s Club Singles Chart and the Greatest Gainer for the second week in a row. If 'Celebration' reaches #1 on Billboard’s Club Single Chart, it would be Madonna’s 40th! #1 Club single - the most of any artist in the history of the Billboard Club Singles Chart.
On the international front so far, the 'Celebration' single is already #1 in Italy and Holland, #2 in Japan and is Top 5 airplay in every other major market.
Another newly recorded song, 'Revolver' featuring Lil Wayne is also included on the 'Celebration' CD. Artwork for the packaging of the CD and DVD was designed by renowned street pop artist 'Mr. Brainwash.'
Currently on tour in Europe with her sold out 'Sticky & Sweet' Tour, the multi-Grammy winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with the highest grossing tour in history for a Female Artist, is scheduled to end her tour with her final show in Israel on September 2nd.

Madonna Celebration CD Track Listing:
CD 1:
01) Hung Up
02) Music
03) Vogue
04) 4 Minutes
05) Holiday
06) Everybody
07) Like A Virgin
08) Into The Groove
09) Like A Prayer
10) Ray Of Light
11) Sorry
12) Express Yourself
13) Open Your Heart
14) Borderline
15) Secret
16) Erotica
17) Justify My Love
18) Revolver

CD 2:
01) Dress You Up
02) Material Girl
03) La Isla Bonita
04) Papa Don't Preach
05) Lucky Star
06) Burning Up
07) Crazy For You
08) Who's That Girl
09) Frozen
10) Miles Away
11) Take A Bow
12) Live To Tell
13) Beautiful Stranger
14) Hollywood
15) Die Another Day
16) Don’t Tell Me
17) Cherish
18) Celebration

Madonna Celebration DVD Track Listing:
1) Burning Up
2) Lucky Star
3) Borderline
4) Like A Virgin
5) Material Girl
6) Crazy For You
7) Into The Groove
8) Live To Tell
9) Papa Don’t Preach
10) True Blue
11) Open Your Heart
12) La Isla Bonita
13) Who’s That Girl
14) Like A Prayer
15) Express Yourself
16) Cherish
17) Vogue
18) Justify My Love
19) Erotica
20) Deeper and Deeper
21) Rain
22) I’ll Remember
23) Secret
24) Take A Bow
25) Bedtime Story
26) Human Nature
27) I Want You
28) You’ll See
29) Frozen
30) Ray Of Light
31) The Power Of Good-Bye
32) Beautiful Stranger
33) American Pie
34) Music
35) Don’t Tell Me
36) What It Feels Like For A Girl
37) Die Another Day
38) Hollywood
39) Love Profusion
40) Hung Up
41) Sorry
42) Get Together
43) Jump
44) 4 Minutes
45) Give It 2 Me
46) Miles Away
47) Celebration

From Madonna.com

Posted at 04:00 PM in Celebration | | Comments (40)

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Dancing Debi: Madonna, Boobs and Maksim's Butt

Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Madonna is a fan of Dancing With the Stars - sorta.
Her longtime best friend, Debi Mazar, tells me that the queen of pop was one of the first people she heard from when it was announced she'd be competing in the upcoming ninth season of the hit reality competition show.
'She's really excited for me,' Mazar, 45, said. 'She was on her way to Budapest and she just said, 'Oh, my God! How great! And you are dancing with Russians - how lucky are you?!'
That Russian would be Mazar's partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Mazar's already under his spell.
She admits she was wrong to assume ballroom dancing would come easier to her because of the many years she spent dancing in New York City nightclubs. 'In my first three days of rehearsal I have come to find that I am really uncoordinated and I really can't dance,' Mazar said. 'It's really terrifying.'
Mazar is not, however, looking forward to the Dancing costumes. 'Everything is padded,' she said. 'I don't want bigger tits! I don't want them up to my chin.'
She added, 'I'm a girl who always wears skirts below the knee. I don't show off my legs, because I don't really love my legs. But everything they have chosen to put me in is like up to my crotch!'
Sounds like Madonna would approve.

From E! Online

Posted at 02:00 PM in General News | | Comments (0)

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Celebration on UK iTunes

Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Many UK fans have been frustrated at not being able to download the Celebration single from UK iTunes whilst the rest of the world could download the track.

madonnalicious has now confirmed that the single will only be available for download from Monday 14 September (the same day as the release of the physical formats).
This is to maximise the chart impact of the song and to help ensure Madonna gets another UK #1 single!

Posted at 08:00 PM in Celebration | | Comments (5)

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Sticky & Sweet Tour: Budapest Soundcheck

Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Madonna was very friendly and chatty with the audience during the soundcheck for the Budapest show, not only did she say 'Hi' to some fans and grab their hands she also gave her guitar pic to another fan.

Here is madonnalicious reader Luis' story about the event:

Here is my video from the soundcheck in Budapest. Madonna saw the American flag my friend Tony and I had then asked us where we were from and we of course screamed 'New York!' and soon after she gave me the guitar pic. As others were trying to grab it from her she said 'No, him!'. The show was awesome!

Posted at 04:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (1)

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Celebration is 'sound of tomorrow'

Monday, 24 August 2009
Paul Oakenfold has revealed that he believes Madonna's new single 'Celebration' is 'the sound of tomorrow'.
The renowned DJ and Madonna recorded two new tracks together for her upcoming greatest hits album, due out on September 28.
First single 'Celebration' was leaked onto the internet in July, while the music producer said that he is proud of their collaboration, Entertainment Weekly reports.
'It's definitely the sound of tomorrow. Which always becomes the sound of today,' he explained. '[It's] meant to be positive in the respect that you can do it, let's have a good time, let's enjoy ourselves.'
He added: 'When you step up to this level, it's an interesting process because you're on someone else's time, and you respect that. And that's really what it's about. So I was extremely organised when I went in there with the team that I had.'
Oakenfold recently described Madonna as 'truly lovely' after working with her.

From Digital Spy

Posted at 02:00 PM in Celebration | | Comments (4)

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Sticky & Sweet Tour: Budapest Soundcheck Pictures

Sunday, 23 August 2009
madonnalicious reader Dario Lopez flew all the way from New York City for the Budapest show that took place on Saturday 22 August.

Audience members got let into the venue while Madonna was still soundchecking. At one point during the soundcheck Madonna asked some people in the audience where they came from so Dario shouted 'NY!' Madonna then got off the stage, said 'Hi NY!' and grabbed his hand.

Here are some of his pictures from the soundcheck:

Posted at 10:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (0)

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Celebration Video Release Date

Sunday, 23 August 2009
The wait is almost over....Just a few more days before we all discover the video to Madonna’s new anthem!
The ‘Celebration’ video will be available for download from iTunes in the USA, Canada and Mexico starting September 1st.
The video, which was directed by Jonas Akerlund, is also set to premiere on TV around the world that very same day!
More details are to be announced soon so stay tuned!

From Madonna.com - thanks to Micheal

Posted at 08:00 PM in Celebration | | Comments (3)

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Bulgaria: Sofia prepares for Madonna concert

Sunday, 23 August 2009
Less than a week before the much expected concert of Madonna in Sofia the organizers have opened three new ticket booths at the very concert spot, the Vasil Levski Stadium.
Madonna's first ever concert in Bulgaria is scheduled for August 29, 2009, and is expected to be attended by about 50,000 fans. The tickets cost between BGN 100 and BGN 150.
The construction of the largest stage ever built in Bulgaria - 85 m in length, and 40 m in height - will start August 23.
About 1,000 staff will be involved in the preparation of the concert, the organizers from Sofia Music Enterprises have announced.

From Novinite.com

Posted at 10:00 AM in Tours | | Comments (0)

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Sticky & Sweet Tour: Billboard Boxscores

Saturday, 22 August 2009
The latest Billboard Boxscores for Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour have been published:

West Harbour - Helsinki, Finland
Aug.6 2009
$12,148,455
85,354 / 85,354 seats/sold out
1/1
$167.42,$139.28

Ullevi Stadion - Gothenburg, Sweden
Aug. 8-9 2009
$14,595,910
119,709 / 119,709 seats/sold out
2/2
$167.17,$97.22

Parken Stadion - Copenhagen, Denmark
Aug. 11 2009
$6,709,250
48,064 / 48,064 seats/sold out
1/1
$266.48,$75.19

Chodov Natural Amphitheatre - Prague, Czech Republic
Aug.13 2009
$3,835,776
42,682 / 42,682 seats/sold out
1/1
$411.86,$49.97

Bernowo Airport - Warsaw, Poland
Aug. 15 2009
$6,526,867
79,343 / 79,343 seats/sold out
1/1
$125.79,$69.18

Thanks to Micheal

Posted at 10:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (2)

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Sticky & Sweet Tour: Munich Fan Pictures - Part 2

Saturday, 22 August 2009
madonnalicious reader Jordana was at the Munich Sticky & Sweet Tour show on Tuesday 18 August and sent in these pictures and report:

It was a great show, Madonna was in good mood. It wasn't until 18:00 that we were allowed to enter the stadium because by then she hadn't finished the soundcheck. We had great weather, fortunately, her voice was really good, she looked relaxed. At the end of the show, while she was singing Give It 2 Me, she even jumped off the catwalk and was face to face with the lucky ones who were standing at the front barricades. My sister and me we were at the third row, we had a great view to the stage.

If you have any pictures or show reports to share then please email us at [email protected]

Posted at 10:00 AM in Tours | | Comments (1)

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Madonna's Celebration video look revealed

Friday, 21 August 2009
A one minute advert for the Celebration greatest hits album leaked online yesterday and the clip which features audio and video snippets (given the Mr Brainwash treatment) of songs such classics such as Lucky Star, Into The Groove, Ray Of Light and Music also featured a clip of Madonna in the Celebration video.

Madonna is seen wearing a shoulder-length platinium blonde wig and a dress from the Balmain 2009 collection.

The clip can currently be found on www.aceshowbiz.com or YouTube

Thanks to Joe

Posted at 06:00 PM in Celebration | | Comments (7)

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Bucharest prepares for the Sticky & Sweet tour

Friday, 21 August 2009
A team of specialists from all over the world started preparations in the Izvor Park in Bucharest, the location for Madonna’s Bucharest stop of her 'Sticky & Sweet' Tour, Agerpress informs.
Madonna will arrive in Romania next week, with the year’s most impressive performance, the organizer of the event, E-Mag!c Entertainment announces.
The preparations already started in the Izvor Park, announcing an unprecedented production, a genuine 'fortress' dedicated exclusively to Madonna’s show.
The concert of August 26 will establish new records for the live entertainment industry in Romania and its invested resources: the stage, consisting of two modules, weighs 100 tons and will require an emplacement surface of the size of a stadium (100 m x 50 m).
The production team will include 1,200 persons, 200 of them part of the technical staff of the tour, and includes persons from all over the world: Germany, UK, Italy, Russia, the United States of America, Mexico, New Zealand and Japan.
Over 100 trucks will be used for the show: 15 for the stage only and four for the wardrobe, one for each episode of the diva’s show.

From Nine O'Clock

Posted at 02:00 PM in Tours | | Comments (0)

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