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Madonna to give additional concert in Israel
From YnetNews.com.

Due to huge demand for tickets, pop diva decides to give second performance in Israel on September 2

Madonna, who is scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv on September 1, will give an additional concert on the following evening in light of the huge demand for tickets in Israel.

Ynet has learned that tens of thousands of tickets have already been sold since going on sale about a week ago. Many of the buyers are fans of the pop diva from abroad, who wish t attend the last concert of her current tour. The show’s production has therefore approved the second concert.

Ticket sale for the additional show will open Friday, and there are still tickets available for the first performance. Ticket prices range from NIS 490 ($120) to NIS 2,500 ($620).

Over a 100,000 people are expected to attend the two shows.

The diva has been traveling the world for some time now with her international “Sticky and Sweet” tour, which was launched following the release of her latest album “Hard Candy.”

The tour began in August 2008 and was scheduled to conclude in Bulgaria on August 28. But then Madonna received – and accepted – the proposal to play in the Holy Land.

This will be the icon’s second performance in Israel. In 1993 she rocked the park with her concert, “The Girlie Show.”

In 2004 the singer was also here, and even gave a speech at a Kabbalah center conference.

• Madonna announces second concert in Israel this Summer
From Haaretz.com.

Madonna will perform an additional concert in Israel this summer, the day after her September 1st show. Both concerts will be held in Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon park.

The decision to hold an additional concert was made due to the high demand for tickets for the pop icon’s Sticky & Sweet Tour, which start at NIS 490.

The September 1st concert will be Madonna’s second performance in Israel. She first appeared at Hayarkon Park 16 years ago as part of her Girlie Tour, and also visited Israel in 2006 during the Jewish High Holidays along with 2,000 other students of Kabbalah.

Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour, which has been underway since 2008 to promote her latest album Hard Candy, was last year’s highest-grossing tour for an individual artist. The tour brought in about $280 million as of December 2008.

The European leg of the tour kicks off with two shows in London, and continues to Paris, Milan, Hamburg, Oslo, Prague and Munich.

The tour is divided into four parts: Pimp, a homage to 1920s fashion and to contemporary gangster style; Old School, which is inspired by New York clubs and hip-hop in the 1980s; Gypsy, which draws from world music and flamenco; and Rave, the show’s dazzling Asian-inspired closing segment.

The show generated controversy last year because of one segment during which images of Hitler and former U.S. presidential candidate John McCain were shown on a giant screen.

Madonna’s show follows ’80s pop stars Depeche Mode’s concert in Israel in May. Other big-name musicians set to perform in Israel in the coming months are the Pet Shop Boys, Leonard Cohen and Faith No More.

Thanks to our friends Avihay and David Kawena reporting from Israel.