Madonna returns to touring but faces £3,00,000 fine. Here's why
Pop icon Madonna might be slapped with a hefty £3,00,000 fine after her comeback Celebration tour concert at London's O2 Arena went beyond the venue's ultra-strict curfew by 30 minutes. The concert, originally set to wrap up at 10:30pm, finally came to an end, that too abruptly at 11:00pm, leaving fans bummed. Transport for London (TfL) and arena operators, AEG, enforce fines of £10,000 per minute for such violations, reportedly. Here's what happened.
Despite 30 minutes stretching, 4 songs remained unperformed
Madonna's second day of concert went on until 11:00pm leading to an abrupt finish that left four songs from her setlist unperformed. The overrunning show was cut short due to the venue's curfew regulations, which specify that events at the arena must conclude by 11:00pm from Monday to Saturday and by 10:30pm on Sundays. Per reports, Greenwich Council mentioned that its midnight curfew had not been violated, and they have no plans to investigate the matter.
Madonna didn't hit the stage until 9:00pm; fans expressed frustration
After the concert, fans expressed their frustration on social media. Some pointed out that the 65-year-old singer could have avoided violating curfew by starting the show earlier, which would prevent fans from feeling "short-changed" after paying up to £1,300 for tickets. Per reports, the concert didn't kick off until 9:00pm. An X/Twitter user frustratingly stated, "I'm sorry Madonna, but people are paying over £1,000 to see you, you can't end like this. Just start on time."
Previous hiccups in Madonna's 'Celebration' tour
This isn't the first hiccup Madonna has encountered during her Celebration tour. On Saturday—the tour's opening night—Madonna's performance was abruptly halted after just the fourth song due to technical sound problems. However, the iconic singer-songwriter tackled the issue head-on and kept the audience entertained with stories from her younger days during the unexpected break. She apologized to the audience, acknowledging that such mishaps were not part of the plan, "especially on the opening night."
Earlier, Madonna had to postpone 'Celebration' due to sudden hospitalization
Madonna's Celebration tour marked her comeback to live performances following her Madame X shows in 2020. The European leg of the tour will continue until December 6, followed by a North American run starting December 13 and wrapping up in Mexico City in April 2024. The Celebration tour was originally slated to kick off earlier in June, but it was postponed when the pop star was hospitalized due to a severe bacterial infection.
