The Celebration Tour
The Celebration Tour is the ongoing twelfth concert tour by American singer Madonna, visiting cities in North America and Europe and anticipating 78 shows. The tour started on October 14, 2023, at The O2 Arena in London, England, and it is set to conclude on April 24, 2024, at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City, Mexico. As Madonna's first retrospective tour, it highlights her more than four decade-long recording career.

The tour was announced on social media on January 17, 2023, after major speculation. To accompany its announcement, Madonna shared a truth or dare inspired, star-studded promo video featuring industry colleagues Diplo, Judd Apatow, Jack Black, Lil Wayne, Bob the Drag Queen, Kate Berlant, Larry Owens, Megan Stalter, Eric André, and Amy Schumer. A Live Nation pre-sale  took place on January 19 at 10:00 a.m. local, prior to the public on-sale beginning January 20 via Ticketmaster.

After Madonna developed a "serious bacterial infection" in late June, leading to a multiple-day stay in the Intensive care unit (ICU), she announced the postponement of the initial North American leg via an Instagram post. The rescheduled dates were announced on August 15, 2023.

Background 
Early speculations of a Madonna tour for 2022-2023 were swirling after the release of her remix/compilation album Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, when outlets in Latin America began reporting that the singer had booked a reservation at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay, for early October 2022. In a YouTube video promoting Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, Madonna is asked about a potential greatest hits tour. She sarcastically responds "Do you want me to go on tour?"

On January 4, 2023, British tabloid The Sun, among other media outlets, were reporting about a rumored tour celebrating Madonna’s recording career of over 40 years (her debut record was released in 1983). Rumors were fueled after Madonna wiped or hid her Instagram posts on January 16. The tour was formally announced on January 17 on Madonna's official website and social media channels. In her statement, Madonna said: "I am excited to explore as many songs as possible, in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for". On January 24,  Variety reported that as a result of the development and production of the show, Madonna's biopic, which she was directing and co-writing, had been temporarily postponed.

The Celebration Tour marks two unprecedented facts in Madonna's career: the first is that this is her first time touring without promoting a specific studio album; the second is that the tour set list will exclusively focus on her greatest hits. BBC music correspondent Mark Savage suggested that her Re-Invention World Tour was her closest or first formal greatest hits tour, claiming that the set list largely ignored her then-current album, American Life — although six of the album's 11 tracks were performed nightly.

Development
Upon the announcement, on January 18, 2023, Billboard dedicated a list of potential songs across the four decades they would like to hear, as well as creating a poll for fans to comment on what song they would like to see be performed. On January 20, 2023, the poll showed the 1987 single "Causing a Commotion" as the leading contender. Publications such as Rolling Stone, Consequence and Variety also elaborated their dream setlist. Building off the excitement of week's announcement, Madonna turned directly to her fanbase as she builds out her Celebration Tour setlist, asking her fans "What song would you like to dance to at my show?" on her social platforms.

Stuart Price, a former producer of the singer, informed the BBC that "a greatest hit doesn't have to be a song [...] It can be a wardrobe, it can be a video, or a statement." He went on further to state "many hits will be played in full, some will be interpolated into other songs, and still more will be used as "bridges" between acts." Mark Savage asked if there were comparisons to other tours that utilize different track rotations. Price stated "Madonna's reputation is for being highly precise and highly rehearsed across all departments. When you look at a tour of this scale, it has so many moving parts, so many elements, that everything has to be highly fixed... but there's one thing that's always dynamic, and that's Madonna herself. Her personality is so strong, her interaction with the audience is so strong, that it creates opportunities for variation from night to night."

Postponement
After Madonna developed a "serious bacterial infection" in late June, which led her to a several day stay in Intensive care unit (ICU), she announced the postponement of the initial North American leg via an Instagram post. The rescheduled dates were announced on August 15, 2023. Speaking about her health struggles in the first show on October 14 in London, she reflected: "I forgot five days of my life, or my death [...] If you want to know my secret, and you want to know how I pull through and how I survive, I thought, 'I've got to be there for my children. I have to survive for them'".

Rehearsals

Rehearsals first began in New York City in April. In early June, the rehearsals moved to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale but were temporarily stopped during Madonna's stay at the ICU at the end of the month and during her recovery. The rehearsals then restarted in mid August at the same venue. In early October, the team moved to Manchester to rehearse at the AO Arena.

Production and concert synopsis

The design of the stage evokes her historical wedding cake setup from the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards and Manhattan neighborhoods. It is a three-layered circular stage combined with a 230 ft/70m length of catwalk. The production equipment has 80 tons, and consists of 3700 amps of show power, 600 lights to illuminate the stage and 14 spotlights for the singer, as well 3600 square feet of LEDs to give a complete imagery to the show; the most amount of video user ever in her tours. It also has circular lighting rig. There is also an illuminated portal frame, designed to act like a time machine looking into the past, present and future where Madonna is lifted  off the ground, and move at  per second.

Frequent collaborator Price became assigned as musical director for the tour, following a call with Madonna congratulating her on the announcement of the tour. Madonna enlisted Lewis James as the creative director and Jamie King, and Guram Gvasalia from Vetements as the costume designer. Derrick Bryson Taylor and Ben Sisario from The New York Times described the costumes as "sexy, religious and futuristic". During the show, dancers appear wearing recreations of 17 outfits originally wore by Madonna, representing her past eras.

The show was separated into five different sections: Uptown, Downtown, Midtown, East and West "grids". Through the concert, Bob the Drag Queen serves as an emcee, appearing during different moments of the show interacting with the singer. Five of her children also joined on stage, including Lourdes Leon.

Commercial performance
Originally a 35-date tour following the initial announcement, several new dates were added due to overwhelming demand on January 19, with second shows in Seattle, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas along with a third show in New York City. A second date was also added in London.

On the day of the general sale, January 20, additional second dates were added in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona and Milan, along with a third date in Paris and two extra dates in London due to popular demand. Over 200,000 fans queued to buy tickets for the London shows, and nearly 30,000 in Netherlands according to Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANP). Ticketmaster's website in Spain crashed for moments. Despite numerous reports that tickets for the tour were some of the most expensive ever for any artist, shows across North America and Europe experienced "extraordinary demand" and sold out in record time, prompting Madonna's team to add several new dates in both continents. On that date, the first three New York City shows sold-out in under 15 minutes, the first two London dates within 20 minutes, the Paris shows under seven minutes, and her Amsterdam date sold out in 10 minutes.

On January 23, second dates in Copenhagen, Cologne, Berlin and Lisbon were announced. On January 23, Madonna herself posted a short video on her official platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, thanking her fans for their "love and support". On January 26, after the four shows in London had sold out, a fifth concert, to be held at the O2 Arena in December 2023, was announced due to "sensational demand" for tickets by British fans. Later that day, due to continued demand, new dates were also added in Brooklyn and Inglewood, bringing the total number of shows in both New York City and Los Angeles to six. On the following day, a fourth and final concert in Paris was announced, as well.  On January 30, due to continued "extraordinary demand", a sixth show at the O2 Arena in London, to be held on 6 December 2023, was announced. On March 27, 2023, due to continued "overwhelming demand", eight additional shows were added in the United States (billed as the last ones to be held in the country for the tour), including second dates in Phoenix and Washington, D.C., and third shows in San Francisco and Las Vegas. The first shows in Nashville, Palm Springs, Sacramento, and Philadelphia were announced as well.

After anticipation in the Mexican press, the first show in Mexico City was officially confirmed on April 17, 2023. This show would be held on January 25, 2024 at the Palacio de los Deportes. On April 21, 2023, a second date was announced after the first show sold out in minutes. The second show, to be held on January 27, 2024, also sold out within minutes of going on general sale, leading to the addition of a third date at the venue. Due to "overwhelming demand", a fourth date to be held on January 30, 2024, was revealed on May 4, 2023.

Philanthropy and activism

The addition of the show in Nashville was in reaction to Tennessee Senate Bill 3 and to "over 100 anti-LGBTQ+ bills currently before state legislatures" in the United States. Calling the oppression of LGBTQ+ people "unacceptable and inhumane", the artist vowed to donate portion of the proceeds from the Nashville show to trans rights organizations. After the North American leg was rescheduled, the concert in Nashville was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.

In early October 2023, it was announced Madonna teamed up with Ministry of Tomorrow, to launch a limited edition line of exclusive merchandise available both online and at handful of venues along the tour's route. The 100% of proceeds are reportedly going to Madonna's Raising Malawi charity organization and Chema Vision Children's Center. She also encouraged her fans to make donations to these organizations.

During the opening show in London on October 14, Madonna nods to her activism addressing about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas-controlled Palestine, saying "It's so painful to witness [...] It breaks my heart watching what's happening in Israel and Palestine", and in a long statement during her third London show, she addressed "we cannot lose our humanity". She also paid tribute to AIDS victims, and deceased musicians, Michael Jackson and Sinéad O'Connor. Madonna was among the first celebrities to condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine back in 2022, and during the Celebration Tour she conveyed her solidarity with Ukraine wearing their flag at some point of the show.

Critical reception
The Celebration Tour debuted positive reviews in London. Paul Sandle from Reuters described her performance proved her energy and charisma. Varietys Mark Sutherland held proves she still the "Reigning Queen of Pop Music", saying "Still dancing, still singing, still the one and only Madonna". Giving four out of five stars, Will Hodgkinson from The Times described the show as "totally captivating". Giving also four out of five stars, Nick Reilly from Rolling Stone UK, says it is "A celebration, well and truly delivered".

Impact and honors 

With over 600,000 tickets sold in a single day, The Celebration Tour became one of the world's fastest-selling concert tours. On June 30, Billboard reported approximately 1.2 million tickets have been sold. However some media reports stated there were available tickets remaining, affected mainly after she postponed the tour due illness. Regarded as one of the most anticipated tours of 2023 by Pitchfork, the then upcoming tour was called by Eric Frankenberg from Billboard as a "global victory lap". He also said it "further cementing her legacy as the Queen of Pop".

On January 19, 2023 during tour presales date, more than 90% of hotels around London's O2 Arena were booked up for Madonna's concert. On October 11, 2023, a Royal Standard flag for Madonna's honor was created in O2 Arena to mark the arrival and duration of her accompanying shows. The giant flag made by royal family's flag-makers, Flying Colours Flagmakers, features an image of Madonna's 1986 album True Blue, with its creators saying "She is true pop royalty [...] We've been manufacturing flags for the Royal Family for over 20 years, but we've never made a flag quite like this". Steve Sayer, Vice Presedent at O2 Arena, stated: "The arrival of Madonna and The Celebration Tour in London is arguably the biggest UK event in pop music this year. Madonna has been at the forefront of the genre and part of pop culture for four decades [...] This Royal Standard flag feels like a fitting tribute to pop royalty". According to Laura Snapes from The Guardian, "critics praised its canny assessment of her musical, cultural and societal impact".

Set list
The following set list was obtained from the concert held on October 14, 2023, at the O2 Arena in London, England. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

 "It's a Celebration" (video introduction)
 "Nothing Really Matters"
 "Everybody"
 "Into the Hollywood Groove"
 "Burning Up"
 "Open Your Heart"
 "Holiday"
 "In This Life" (intermission)
 "Live to Tell" 
 "Like a Prayer" (includes elements of "Girl Gone Wild", "Act of Contrition", "Unholy" and "Let's Go Crazy")
 "Blond Ambition" (interlude; includes elements of "Living for Love", "Fever", "Erotica" and "Justify My Love")
 "Erotica"
 "Justify My Love" 
 "Fever"
 "Hung Up" (includes elements of "Hung Up on Tokischa")
 "Bad Girl"
 "Ballroom" (interlude; includes elements of "Up Down Suite", "Break My Soul (The Queens remix)" and "Vogue")
 "Vogue" 
 "Human Nature"
 "Crazy for You"
 "The Beast Within" 
 "Die Another Day"
 "Don't Tell Me"
 "Mother and Father" 
 "Little Star" (a capella)
 "I Will Survive"
 "La Isla Bonita"
 "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"
 "I Don't Search I Find" (intermission)
 "Bedtime Story"
 "Ray of Light" (Sasha Ultra Violet mix)
 "Rain"
 "Like a Virgin" (interlude; contains elements of "Billie Jean", "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Angel")
 "Bitch I'm Madonna"
 "Celebration" / "Music"

Notes
 "Little Star" was only performed during the October 14, 2023, concert, as tribute to Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon, in celebration of her twenty-seventh birthday.
 During the October 15, 2023, concert, due to venue curfew restrictions and Madonna being late to start, the concert ended immediately following the performance of "Rain".

Tour dates

Cancelled dates

Gallery

See also 
 List of fastest-selling concert tours

Notes

References

External links 
Madonna.com > Tour

Madonna concert tours
2023 concert tours
2024 concert tours
Concert tours of Canada
Concert tours of the United States
Concert tours of Europe
Concert tours of Mexico
Concert tours of North America
Concert tours of Belgium
Concert tours of France
Concert tours of the United Kingdom
Concert tours of Portugal
Concert tours of the Netherlands
Concert tours of Germany
Concert tours of Spain
Concert tours of Denmark
Concert tours of Sweden
Concert tours of Italy