Madonna postpones tour after stay in intensive care - BBC

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By Malu Cursino

BBC News

Madonna has postponed her world tour after being taken to a hospital's intensive care unit (ICU) with a serious bacterial infection.

According to her manager, the global popstar's infection was "serious" and led to "a several day stay in the ICU". He added a full recovery is expected.

In a statement, Guy Oseary said Madonna's health is improving, but she is still under medical care.

Madonna was expected to launch her 84-date next month.

The 64-year-old pop icon aimed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her breakout single, Holiday, by embarking on her first ever greatest hits tour.

Dubbed the Celebration Tour, this would be the singer's return to arenas and stadiums after her experimental, theatre-based Madame X shows in 2019 and 2020.

Some of those performances were called off due to the star's knee and hip injuries.

Madonna's tour was due to start in Vancouver, Canada, on 15 July.

But the singer-songwriter's manager said Madonna developed a "serious bacterial infection" on Saturday 24 June and all commitments would need to be paused as a result.

She was due to begin the UK and Europe portion of her tour on 14 October, scheduled to begin and end Europe stint at London's O2 Arena.

Madonna's greatest hits span several decades - including Into The Groove (1985), Like A Prayer (1989), to Vogue (1990) and Hung Up (2005) to name a few.

In 2009, the singer was awarded a Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing music tour by a female artist after completing her Sticky & Sweet Tour.

She has six children. Last week, she posted to her 18.9m Instagram followers to congratulate her twin 10-year-old daughters for completing elementary school.

Madonna Louise Ciccone grew up in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In 1978 she moved to New York to pursue a career in dance and music.

Earlier this year, her older brother Anthony Ciccone died at age 66 after struggling with alcoholism and homelessness.