Madonna’s Spectacular Return: The Celebration Tour Kicks Off in London

Yesterday at London’s O2 Arena, the first date of Madonna’s world tour took place. The start of the Celebration Tour was initially planned for last spring in the United States but was postponed due to the artist’s health problems, which are now behind her. “I didn’t think I would make it, and neither did the doctors,” she told the audience from the stage. “I forgot 5 days of my life, or my death, I really don’t know what it was.” It was Madonna’s first performance since the pandemic hit, as her Madame X Tour was prematurely closed on March 9, 2020, due to COVID.

Yesterday’s show in London was a journey through Madonna’s career. Twenty-eight songs to encapsulate 40 years of her career, starting with “Nothing Really Matters,” which opens the set (Madonna hadn’t performed it live since 1999), and closing with “Celebration.” In between, she performed major hits like “Into The Groove,” “Justify My Love,” “Holiday,” “Vogue,” “Like a Prayer,” “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,” “Ray Of Light,” “Bitch, I’m Madonna,” and an acoustic guitar and vocal cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”

During the show, Madonna took a moment to wish her daughter Lourdes a happy birthday and to watch her young daughter Mercy James showcase voguing moves, reminiscent of the ballroom scene. Among her outfit changes, which were in pure Madonna style, and visuals dedicated to friends lost to AIDS, such as Freddie Mercury and Keith Haring, the 65-year-old artist managed to handle a technical issue that halted the show for 15 minutes. Instead of leaving the stage, Madonna shared stories of her early days in New York during the 1980s, talking about the economic hardships and how sex helped her find places to sleep and wash herself: “Blowjobs in exchange for a shower.”

Here are some videos from the concert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_3X8csRCdM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEHcHbG0xU0