Madonna begins “Celebration Tour” in London (pics, video, setlist)

After being forced to postpone the dates when she contracted a bacterial infection that required an ICU stay, Madonna officially began her 40th anniversary “Celebration Tour” on Saturday (10/14), playing her first of six scheduled shows at The O2 in London. The setlist spanned over 40 songs, including a rare performance of “Nothing Really Matters” to begin the set (her first time performing it since 1999); “Justify My Love” and “Bad Girl,” both performed for the first time since 1993; the first performance of “Bedtime Story” since 1995; and tons more hits, including “Into the Groove,” “Open Your Heart,” “Holiday,” “Live to Tell,” “Like a Prayer,” “Vogue,” “Crazy for You,” “La Isla Bonita,” “Ray of Light,” and more. See Madonna’s night one setlist, and pictures from the show by Kevin Mazur, below.

Madonna addressed the Israel-Hamas war from the stage on Saturday night, saying, “It breaks my heart to see children suffering, teenagers suffering, elderly people suffering. All of it is heartbreaking. But even though our hearts are broken, our spirits cannot be broken … We can unite in a dark and evil way, or we can unite from a place of light and love. And if we all have that in our collective consciousness, we can change the world and we can bring peace — not only to the Middle East, but all over the world.”

She also spoke about the bacterial infection that led to the tour’s postponement, saying, “I didn’t think I was gonna make it. Neither did my doctors. I forgot five days of my life — or my death … But my children were there — and my children always save me every time.” (Speaking of her children, Lourdes, David, Mercy James, and Stella all joined her onstage throughout the night).

The set suffered from technical issues early in the night; “This is exactly what you don’t want to happen on your opening night,” Madonna told the crowd, using the pause to reminisce about the early days of her carer in NYC. It also featured lavish designer costuming, an array of dancers, and for the first time for Madonna, no onstage band. Watch attendee-taken video from Saturday below.

The Celebration Tour hits North America starting in December and includes NYC shows on December 13, 14, and 16 at Barclays Center, and January 22, 23, and 29 at Madison Square Garden. See all dates below.

photo by Kevin Mazur / WireImage for Live Nation

SETLIST: MADONNA @ THE O2, 10/14/2023
It’s a Celebration (video intro)
Nothing Really Matters
Everybody
Into the Groove
Burning Up
Open Your Heart
Holiday
In This Life (intermission)
Live to Tell
Like a Prayer (including elements of Girl Gone Wild, Act of Contrition, Unholy and Let’s Go Crazy)
Blond Ambition interlude (including elements of Living for Love, Fever, Erotica and Justify My Love)
Erotica
Justify My Love
Fever
Hung Up (including elements of Fever, Hung Up on Tokischa and Gangsta)
Bad Girl
Ballroom interlude (includes elements of Up Down Suite, Break My Soul (Queens Remix), and Vogue)
Vogue
Human Nature
Crazy for You
The Beast Within
Die Another Day
Don’t Tell Me
Mother and Father
Little Star (a capella)
I Will Survive
La Isla Bonita
Don’t Cry for Me Argentina
I Don’t Search I Find (intermission)
Bedtime Story
Ray of Light
Rain
Like a Virgin (includes elements of Billie Jean, The Way You Make Me Feel and Angel)
Bitch I’m Madonna
Celebration / Music

MADONNA: 2023-2024 TOUR DATES

Sun, Oct 15 London, UK The O2
Tue, Oct 17 London, UK The O2
Wed, Oct 18 London, UK The O2
Sat, Oct 21 Antwerp, BE Sportpaleis
Sun, Oct 22 Antwerp, BE Sportpaleis
Tue, Oct 25 Copenhagen, DK Royal Arena
Thu, Oct 26 Copenhagen, DK Royal Arena
Sat, Oct 28 Stockholm, SE Tele2 Arena
Wed, Nov 01 Barcelona, ES Palau Sant Jordi
Thu, Nov 02 Barcelona, ES Palau Sant Jordi
Mon, Nov 06 Lisbon, PT Altice Arena
Tue, Nov 07 Lisbon, PT Altice Arena
Sun, Nov 12 Paris, FR Accor Arena
Mon, Nov 13 Paris, FR Accor Arena
Wed, Nov 15 Cologne, DE Lanxess Arena
Tue, Nov. 16 Cologne, DE Lanxess Arena
Sun, Nov 19 Paris, FR Accor Arena
Mon, Nov 20 Paris, FR Accor Arena
Thu, Nov 23 Milan, IT Mediolanum Forum
Sat, Nov 25 Milan, IT Mediolanum Forum
Tue, Nov 28 Berlin, DE Mercedes-Benz Arena
Wed, Nov 29 Berlin, DE Mercedes-Benz Arena
Fri, Dec 1 Amsterdam, NL Ziggo Dome
Sat, Dec 2 Amsterdam, NL Ziggo Dome
Tue, Dec 5 London, U.K. The O2
Wed, Dec 6 London, U.K. The O2
Wed, Dec 13 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
Thu, Dec 14 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
Sat, Dec 16 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
Mon, Dec 18 Washington, US Capital One Arena
Tue, Dec 19 Washington, US Capital One Arena
Mon, Jan 8 Boston, MA TD Garden
Tue, Jan 9 Boston, MA TD Garden
Thu, Jan 11 Toronto, CA Scotiabank Arena
Fri, Jan 12 Toronto, CA Scotiabank Arena
Mon, Jan 15 Detroit, US Little Caesars Arena
Thu, Jan 18 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Sat, Jan 20 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Mon, Jan 22 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Tue, Jan 23 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Thu, Jan 25 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Mon, Jan 29 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Thu, Feb 1 Chicago, IL The United Center
Fri, Feb 2 Chicago, IL The United Center
Mon, Feb 5 Pittsburgh, US PPG Paints Arena
Thu, Feb 8 Cleveland, US Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
Tue, Feb 13 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Sat, Feb 17 Seattle, US Climate Pledge Arena
Sun, Feb 18 Seattle, US Climate Pledge Arena
Wed, Feb 21 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Sat, Feb 24 Sacramento, US Golden 1 Center
Tue, Feb 27 San Francisco, CA Chase Center
Wed, Feb 28 San Francisco, CA Chase Center
Fri, Mar 1 Las Vegas, US T-Mobile Arena
Sat, Mar 2 Las Vegas, US T-Mobile Arena
Mon, Mar 4 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
Tue, Mar 5 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
Thu, Mar 7 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
Sat, Mar 9 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
Mon, Mar 11 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
Wed, Mar 13 Palm Springs, US Acrisure Arena
Sat, Mar 16 Phoenix, US Footprint Center
Tue, Mar 19 Denver, US Ball Arena
Sun, Mar 24 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Mon, Mar 24 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Thu, Mar 28 Houston, TX Toyota Centre
Fri, Mar 29 Houston, TX Toyota Centre
Mon, Apr 1 Atlanta, US State Farm Arena
Thu, Apr 4 Tampa, FL Amalie Arena
Sat, Apr 6 Miami, US Miami-Dade Arena
Sun, Apr 7 Miami, US Miami-Dade Arena
Sun, Apr 14 Austin, TX Moody Center
Mon, Apr 15 Austin, TX Moody Center
Sat, Apr 20 Mexico City, MX Palacio De Los Deportes
Sun, Apr 21 Mexico City, MX Palacio De Los Deportes
Tue, Apr 23 Mexico City, MX Palacio De Los Deportes
Wed, Apr 24 Mexico City, MX Palacio De Los Deportes