Madonna’s long-suffering fans Down Under can thank their lucky star. The Queen of Pop on Monday announced a long-overdue tour of Australia and New Zealand next March, which will bring to an end a perplexing 23-year wait between visits.
Sure, her fans in this part of the world will have to hold-tight for another nine months to see their hero, but that’s a cinch compared with two-plus decades they’ve held on since she last played here, for the Girlie Show tour of 1993. Indeed, her scheduled shows in New Zealand will be her first there.
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It’s not as though Madonna has a puny fanbase in these parts. Her latest album Rebel Heart opened at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart in March, becoming her 11th No. 1 in Australia, a run that stretches back to True Blue which reached the summit in August 1986. No other artist can beat that tally (U2 is also on 11 No. 1s).
Arthur Fogel, chairman of Live Nation’s Global Touring division, the producer of the tour, told Billboard earlier that a trek to Australasia was on the cards. “It’s kind of bizarre when you think about it, that a superstar like that hasn’t been to a pretty regular touring area for 25 years,” he said.
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The general onsale starts July 6, while customers of Telstra Thanks and Citi and members of the Icon fanclub and My Live Nation will get an earlier window.
Madonna’s 2016 Rebel Heart tour of Australia and New Zealand:
March 5 — Vector Arena, Auckland
March 6 — Vector Arena, Auckland
March 12 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
March 13 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
March 19 — Allphones Arena, Sydney
March 20 — Allphones Arena, Sydney
March 26 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre
March 27 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre