The O2, London
The audience cheers every choreographed dance step as Madonna runs through her ‘broke, starving and homeless’ origin story and enthusiastically snogs a topless dancer
The first time Madonna addresses the audience at the O2 Arena – three songs into the opening date of her Celebration tour – it’s to express astonishment. “I’m pretty damn surprised I made it this far,” she offers. “And I mean that on many levels.”
Well, quite: it’s a statement you could take in a number of ways. It might refer to the life-threatening health scare that necessitated the postponement of her current tour, and which seems to have affected the audience’s reaction to tonight’s performance: they cheer every choreographed dance step she undertakes as if it’s a victory against the odds. It might refer to the improbability of Madonna becoming the biggest-selling female recording artist of all time, given her humble beginnings.
