 Madonna will celebrate her 50th birthdays in August |
The tickets have gone on sale for Madonna's 27-date world tour which kicks off in Cardiff in August. A tickets agency in the city said there had been a queue of people waiting for their doors to open at 0900 BST. The head of marketing at the Millennium Stadium said they were "delighted" Madonna was starting her tour there. Meanwhile all passes for the free Grand Slam Celebration concert in the stadium were snapped up in the first ten minutes. "As she's starting her world tour here, it's placing a tremendous focus on Cardiff," Gwyn Dolphin from the stadium said. "This is the second time Madonna has performed here, it shows it's a good venue and a good location." He expected the concert to be a sell out with around 50,000 attending and Mr Dolphin said having the choice to open or close the roof gave them added flexibility. Madonna's only other UK date for the Sticky and Sweet tour is in Wembley, London. Tim Rich managing director from Ticketline UK said: "There sales have been very brisk with people coming through the doors and calling on the phone. "It's great for Cardiff and south Wales that Madonna's bringing her visual and audio extravaganza here. Party-goers "In 2006 she came to the Millennium Stadium with her Confessions tour, which was I think the highest grossing tour for a female at the time," he added. He said there was a limit of six tickets per person - with prices ranging from �55 to �150. The star celebrates her 50th birthday on 16 August, days only before the concert in Cardiff on 23 August. The tour will stop in major cities across Europe including London and Paris, as well as cities in the US.  The Stereophonics feature in the Grand Slam Celebration concert |
Her recent album, Hard Candy, has debuted at number one at 27 countries so far including the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Australia, according to her record company. Meanwhile, rugby fans started queuing outside the stadium headquarters on Westgate Street at 0700 BST to claim their allocation for the free for the Grand Slam Celebration on the bank holiday Monday on 26 May. The Stereophonics and Feeder are among the acts who will perform for the 20,000 party-goers on the stadium stage. Because the pitch will still be in position after the Heineken Cup final, Mr Dolphin said people would be situated on the eastern side of the stadium and the number of people would be limited. Winners of the Six Nations squad will attend the concert.
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