The Celebration Tour
The Celebration Tour[1][2] is the twelfth concert tour by American singer Madonna,[3] visiting cities in North America, Europe and South America and anticipating 81 shows.[4][5] The tour started on October 14, 2023, at The O2 Arena in London, England, and it is set to conclude on May 4, 2024, with a free concert at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[b] As Madonna's first retrospective tour, it highlights recording career which spans to more than four decades.[7]
The tour was announced on social media on January 17, 2023,[8] after major speculation.[9][10] 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.[3]
After Madonna developed a "serious bacterial infection" in late June, leading to a multiple-day stay in the intensive care unit, she announced the postponement of the initial North American leg via an Instagram post. The rescheduled dates were announced on August 15, 2023.[11]
Background
Early speculations of a Madonna tour for 2022–2023 were swirling after the release of her remix album Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones; in October 2022, outlets in Latin America began reporting that the singer had booked a reservation at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay, for early October 2023.[12] 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?"[13]
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).[9][10] Rumors were fueled after Madonna wiped or hid her Instagram posts on January 16.[14] The tour was formally announced on January 17 on Madonna's official website and social media channels.[15] 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".[16] 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.[17]
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.[16] 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[16] —although six of the album's 11 tracks were performed nightly.
Concert synopsis
The Celebration Tour is a two-hour-plus set with multiple-costume-change and more than 30 songs.[61][62] The show was separated into five different sections: Uptown, Downtown, Midtown, East and West "grids".[33] According to tour creative director Lewis James, the stage and show also serves as an archive of her life, celebrating with her fans, and is a "continuation of her legacy" more than just a biography.[31][36] Madonna's six children also joined on stage during multiple moments of the show, including Lourdes Leon in London,[63] and Rocco Ritchie (her son with Guy Ritchie) in Sweden,[64] which represents her present as a mother and celebrating family.[36]
Throughout the concert, Bob the Drag Queen serves as an emcee, appearing during different moments of the show interacting with the singer,[65] often dressed as Marie Antoinette (resembling Madonna's "Vogue" 1990 MTV Video Music Awards performance).[56][31] During segments of the show, dancers appear wearing recreations of 17 outfits originally worn by Madonna, representing many of her reinventions.[32] The show includes more past references, including the bed from her Blond Ambition World Tour with a lookalike donning a latex mask.[31]
During the performance of "Vogue", Madonna invited various celebrities in each stop of the tour to join her on stage to judge the voguing performed by her backing dancers, including FKA Twigs, Diplo, Arca, Jean Paul Gaultier, Donatella Versace, Stella McCartney, and Julia Garner.[66]
Reception
Critical response
The Celebration Tour debuted with mostly rave reviews in London.[121][122] Paul Sandle from Reuters stated that her performance proved her energy and charisma.[123] Variety's Mark Sutherland said that Madonna proved she was still the "Reigning Queen of Pop Music", "Still dancing [and] still singing".[61] Various publications including The Times, The Guardian and UK Rolling Stone gave her four out five stars, describing it as "totally captivating" and "a celebration, well and truly delivered".[124][125][126] Her other European shows also attracted generally positive reviews by local publications, including in Sweden,[127] Belgium,[128] Denmark,[129] Spain,[130][45] Portugal,[131] and France.[132]
Although general responses from critics has largely been positive, they have honed on some weakness points, including her tardiness along with some brief technical issues including shows in Antwerp, Barcelona and London, as well her usage of pre-recorded vocals in some tracks and omitted songs of her catalog.[130][126][38][45] Giving five out five stars, Nick Levine from NME complimented the tour but was critical towards the tribute she made to Michael Jackson describing it as a "dud visual" and saying it looks "a bit cheap".[133] The Arts Desk's Thomas H Green described the show as "spectacular, ambitious and occasionally bemusing".[38] In a less positive review, Shaad D'Souza from Pitchfork commented the tour feel "unusually scrappy" compared to her "meticulous" and "highly conceptual" past shows.[112]
Tardiness lawsuits
Following a reported tardiness during its opening day in the North American leg, on December 13, Madonna and Live Nation faced a lawsuit in early January 2024, by two concertgoers.[134] They criticized Madonna, Live Nation and the arena venue of "unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices", with Live Nation responding, a technical issue caused the delay.[134] This was followed in April by another suit filled in Washington D.C. by concertgoers who accused her of showing "total disrespect for her fans".[135] In the document, the lawyers claim the singer made the fans "wait hours for her performance in a hot, uncomfortable arena".[135]