Images may be subject to copyright
On this day, 30 July 2006, American superstar Madonna played Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on her Confessions Tour with support provided by Paul Oakenfold. It was the opening concert of the European leg of the tour.
The concert was divided into four parts: Equestrian had horse-themed and bondage elements, Bedouin featured Middle Eastern and religious aspects and was accompanied by messages, Glam—Punk consisted of both rock and stripped-down performances, and the final Disco segment was based on the genre of the same name.
Setlist
Equestrian
Future Lovers
(with samples of "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer)
Get Together
Like a Virgin
Jump
Bedouin
Confessions
(Video interlude)
Live to Tell
Forbidden Love
Isaac
Sorry
Like It or Not
Glam-Punk
Sorry
(Video interlude, remix)
I Love New York
Ray of Light
Let It Will Be
Drowned World/Substitute for Love
Paradise (Not for Me)
Disco
The Duke Mixes the Hits
Music
Erotica
La Isla Bonita
Lucky Star
Hung Up
Madonna kicks off tour in Cardiff
Around 59,000 fans have been in Cardiff to see Madonna kick off the European leg of her world tour at the Millennium Stadium.
The show was Madonna's first ever performance in Wales.
The Millennium Stadium is the biggest venue to date in the star's Confessions world tour, which began in Los Angeles in May.
The show in Cardiff was the first of 21 dates across Europe. Eight are being staged in London.
The singer included an equestrian theme during the opening in Cardiff.
Chris Lamb, from California, said 150 workers from the USA, along with 200 local people worked on the set since Monday.
"People are not coming to see a rock concert - this is a show, closer to theatre than a rock concert," he said.
DJ Paul Oakenfold opened the singer's concert at 1900 BST, performing for around an hour and a half before Madonna's two-hour show.
Traffic Wales said it had put in place plans to cope with the extra traffic.
Project manager Simon Jones said: "We work with the council, the stadium and the emergency services to ensure that the event runs smoothly."
Madonna's European tour continues to Wembley Arena and finishes in Prague before it moves to Japan in September.
'CONFESSIONS' FACTS
The show was rehearsed for 1,000 hours over a period of 12 weeks
There were 27 performers, including the band, 22 dancers, and Madonna herself
The stage and equipment weighs 200 tons
Eight pairs of shoes and boots and seven costumes are worn nightly by Madonna
The disco-ball rocket ship for the start of the show weighs one-and-a-half tonnes
400,000 watts of power are used for every performance of the show
The tour director said the set was "enormously technical" and was state-of-the-art with its video show.
