Final preparations are being made as Madonna kicks off the European leg of her ‘Confessions’ tour in Cardiff.

The show on Sunday at the Millennium Stadium will be the biggest arena yet for the world tour, which started in the Los Angeles in May.

Around 59,000 fans are expected for the show, the first of 21 dates across Europe, including eight in London.

Adapting her show to each venue, the singer will include an equestrian theme during the opening in Cardiff.

The star’s tour director Chris Lamb, from California, has worked with Madonna for 20 years.

He and his “army” have been constructing the set in the stadium since Monday. With 150 workers over from the USA, Mr Lamb said they also employed around 200 local people.

“We’ve done 35 shows in America in indoor arenas, this here is the first stadium show for two years,” he said.

“People are not coming to see a rock concert – this is a show, closer to theatre than a rock concert.”

Mr Lamb said the cost of the concert was “enormous” but added it was all relative the whole expense of the tour.

After two decades of working with Madonna Mr Lamb believes the singer will never retire.

“I don’t think she’ll ever stop.

“She’s a perfectionist, focused and she knows every little thing about the show,” he added. “She wants to outdo herself and challenges herself.”

And with regards to the set she “comes up with the basic idea and is involved from square one.”

The tour director said the set was “enormously technical” and was state of the art with its video show.

However two large silver “disco horses” backdrops placed on each side of the stage have not been approved by Madonna yet.

Even though she’s seen the drawings Mr Lamb awaits her verdict before they get final approval.

The media, invited to the stadium on Friday, were not allowed to photograph them.

DJ Paul Oakenfold will open the Hung Up singer’s concert at 1900 BST and will perform his set for around an hour and a half before Madonna’s two-hour show.

There will be a “golden circle” to hold around 3,000 fans in front of the stage on a first come first serve basis.

Madonna’s tour continues at Wembley Arena and finishes in Prague before it moves to Japan in September.

From BBC News.