Music
30 Mar 04

Madonna-for-Ireland update

The odds on Madonna playing Slane on the weekend of August 28/29 have shortened considerably with the singer confirming a third London date at Wembley Arena on August 22.

Madonna's previously announced re-Invention Tour gigs at Earls Court on August 18 and 19 sold-out in under two hours, with pairs of tickets being offered for sale on eBay for as much £1,000stg.

Says a well-placed source: "The show being the size it is, there's no way she's going to be able to do Slane one day and Wembley the next. There's still a question mark, though, as to whether she'll play here on the Saturday or Sunday."

Responding to talk of €125-plus Slane tickets, her manager Caresse Henry insists: "Madonna is one of the few artists who gives a performance worthy of every cent. I am basing ticket prices on the going rate and knowing the show she's preparing to give."

Echoing those sentiments, Arthur Fogel of her worldwide promoters, Clear Channel Entertainment, says: "She has a way of captivating the marketplace. Any time Madonna tours, it has been hugely successful."

That's born out by the 47 sellouts on her 2001 Drowned tour grossing her a cool $75 million.
As for what fans can expect for their money, Fogel confirmed that "the set-list will tilt towards a career retrospective".

Also included here is the first official re-Invention tour picture.