Madonna made her long-awaited debut on the new “Celebration” world tour in London last Saturday (14), after having postponed the event due to a serious health problem. The singer, who turned 65 in August, took to the stage at the O2 Arena in a performance that, at times, had a more somber tone than a festive one. During the show, she paid tribute to some of the late icons with whom she shared stardom, such as Prince, Michael Jackson and Sinead O’Connor.
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Madonna also addressed her health issues, revealing that the last year has been extremely challenging for her. “I didn’t think I could do it, and neither did my doctors. That’s why I woke up with all my kids around me,” she shared. The artist faced a bacterial infection in June, which led her to cancel the first leg of her “Celebration” tour in North America. She described this period as five days of her life – or near death – of which she has no clear memory.
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Grateful for the presence and support of her children, Madonna spoke about the secret of her overcoming and survival: “If you want to know my secret and how I overcame and how I survived, I thought, ‘I have to be there for my children. I have to survive for them”. In solemn moments, the victims of the AIDS epidemic were remembered, with images being projected on the arena’s giant screens while Madonna sang excerpts from her song “In This Life”, from the 1992 album “Erotica”. Her friend and late artist Keith Haring was also honored during a performance of his 1986 hit “Live to Tell.”
Of course, the “Celebration” tour also had its joyful moments, like when Madonna’s daughter, Mercy James, surprised everyone by playing the opening notes of “Bad Girl” on the piano. Additionally, her other daughters, Lourdes Leon, who was celebrating her birthday, and twins Stella and Estere, enjoyed a performance of Madonna’s timeless 1990 hit “Vogue.”