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Madonna tour kicks off in Cardiff in August
05/08/2008 1:00 PM, Reuters
Michael Paoletta
Madonna kicks off her new international tour in Cardiff, Wales, on August 23, she announced on Thursday. The "Sticky and Sweet" tour, which follows her latest chart-topping album "Hard Candy," also will stop in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Britain in August and September. The European leg includes performances at London's Wembley Stadium on September 11 and Paris's Stade de France on September 20. The tour moves to North America on October 3 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with stops at New York's Madison Square Garden followed by performances in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles before ending at Miami Dolphin Stadium on November 26. According to a statement on her Web site (www.madonna.com), Madonna also will visit Mexico and South America later in 2008. The U.S. singer will once again team up with music tour and promotion company Live Nation, with which she signed a recording and touring contract last year. The 10-year deal, reported to be worth $120 million, involves a three-album commitment and brought her long-term collaboration with Warner Bros. to an end. It was an example of the so-called "360-degree deal," which is increasingly popular in a music business struggling to make money just selling records. The agreements typically involve publishing, touring and merchandising as well as recording. "Hard Candy," Madonna's 11th and last studio album with Warner, debuted at No. 1 in 27 countries, including the United States, Britain and Japan. Madonna's 2006 "Confessions" tour was the highest-grossing concert tour of all time by a female artist, with ticket sales of just under $195 million. Tickets to some of the "Sticky & Sweet" concerts will go on sale starting May 16. Reuters/Nielsen
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