“Madonna” rode in on a saddle and a crucifix as she kicked off the opening night of the European leg of her world tour” – This is London reports today.

“The queen of pop entertained a crowd of 59,000 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff with an erotically-charged performance.

It was the first time her Confessions tour had been seen outside America and in a stadium.”

“She said: “It’s also our first show in Europe. I’m sick of people sitting down in concerts. It’s really boring. Oh my goodness there is so many people. This is very exciting for me.”

“At one point as if to prove she could do no wrong in the eyes of her fans, she showed them a dramatic middle finger to a roar of applause.”

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Fans saw her sing from a crucifix and the performance contained provocative dance routines.

There were rumours of poor ticket sales, but the small patches of empty seats were filled by dancing fans.

Madonna opened with the disco classic I Feel Love, appearing before her public from a giant disco ball lowered from the stadium’s closed roof.

Fans got Saturday Night Fever Madonna, leather-clad guitar-playing Madonna and riding school Madonna. She gyrated on a riding saddle while it floated around the stage on a pole.

“Are you ready to ride with me,” she asked, as the concert began in an equestrian theme.

The superstar said she was glad to be in Wales for the first time and to see so many international flags in the crowd.

“Right now we are living in a world where there’s too much hate and too much fighting,” she said.

The stadium was shown films of African Aids orphans and quotations from the Bible.

The show ended with a giant video screen asking: “Have you Confessed?”

Linda Wood, 40, from Hull, said: “It was brilliant. We’ve driven six hours to see her and it was worth every minute of it.”

Andy Pearson, 39, from Gloucester, said the performance needed some more up-tempo tracks and an encore.

“There was a bit of booing at the end there,” he said.

“The provocative stuff is nothing different from what she has done before. It’s the sort of thing you expect from Madonna.”

The crew and its massive convoy of trucks had been readying the Millennium Stadium for her arrival all week.

The 70,000-seater venue has hosted rock acts such as U2, but Madonna is its biggest.

Crowds of fans filled the streets around the stadium through the afternoon.
Gabby Hews, 33, from north Devon said: “I have loved Madonna since I was growing up in the 80s.

“The new music is cool, but I’m still an 80s girl. The old stuff is still the best.

“I paid £80 for my ticket so I guess ours were cheap compared to some.”

Sarah Morgan, 41, of Pontypridd, south Wales, said: “I have always wanted to see Madonna for years, and if she hadn’t come to Cardiff I would have gone to Paris or anywhere.

“She is unbelievable, and what she does with her body at that age is unbelievable.”