Madonna postpones tour after spending ‘several days’ in intensive care with bacterial infection
Madonna has reportedly paused all commitments until further notice after a “serious bacterial infection” landed her in intensive care.
A statement posted via her manager Guy Oseary’s Instagram account said: “On Saturday, June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which lead to a several-day stay in the ICU.
“Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care. A full recovery is expected. At this time we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour.
“We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows.”
There was no immediate confirmation via the star’s website or own social media channels, however, and tickets for upcoming tour stops still appeared to be on sale.
The Madonna: The Celebration Tour, marking her four-decade recording career since breakout single “Holiday”, was due to kick off in July in Vancouver, with dates already announced across North America and Europe until early 2024.
Madonna, 64, was expected to be supported on the “one-of-a-kind” tour by RuPaul’s Drag Race star Bob the Drag Queen, with a setlist to “highlight her biggest hits from her unmatched music catalogue over the past 40 years”.
“I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for,” she said in the tour’s announcement video earlier this year.
The tour was due to be her first since her Madame X shows in 2019 and 2020, which ended abruptly due to the Covid-19 pandemic after several cancellations due to a recurring knee injury.
Several London shows from the Madame X tour were among those cancelled “on doctors’ orders”, with the star writing at the time: “Doing my show every night brings me so much joy and to cancel is a kind of punishment for me but the pain I’m in right now is overwhelming and I must rest and follow doctors’ orders so I can come back stronger and better and continue the Madame X journey with all of you.”
