LONDON (AP) โ Madonna kicked off her career-spanning Celebration Tour at London's O2 Arena on Saturday night, marking her first performance since suffering what her manager called a โserious bacterial infectionโ that led to hospitalization in an intensive care unit for several days back in June.
โIโm on the road to recovery and incredibly grateful for all the blessings in my life,โ the pop superstar wrote on Instagram this summer, shortly after news of the ICU stay broke. โMy focus now is on my health and getting stronger and I assure you, Iโll be back with you as soon as I can.โ
On stage, Madonna, 65, said she'd had a โcrazy year" that neither she nor her doctors thought she'd make it through. She said her children spurred her on and that she had to โsurvive for them.โ The opening night of the tour also marked the 27th birthday of daughter Lourdes Leon, who appeared on stage with her mother.
After a brief technical hitch, the opening night of the tour was indeed a celebration. Madonna played songs from across her vast career, including studio recordings and footage drawing on four decades of hits. On the set list were iconic songs from โLike a Prayerโ to โHolidayโ to โVogueโ to โLa Isla Bonita." She also included more niche tracks such as โDie Another Dayโ from the 2002 Bond movie of the same name.
During an acoustic moment in the show, Madonna spoke out about the ongoing war in the Middle East.
โEven though our hearts are broken, our spirits cannot be broken,โ she said, adding that she hopes for a โcollective consciousness to change the world and bring peace.โ
Madonna rescheduled the North American leg of her tour, originally slated to kick off July 15 in Vancouver and run through Oct. 8 in Las Vegas. That leg now begins Dec. 13 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and runs through April 24, 2024, when it will conclude at Mexico Cityโs Palacio de los Deportes.