Madonna Reportedly Planning A 40th Anniversary World Tour

Madonna is planning a 2023 world tour, with retrospective concerts through 40 years since releasing her 1983 self-titled debut album.

According to high-up sources who have talked to Billboard, the Like A Prayer singer is planning a "massive" world tour - or, as one executive told Billboard, "It’s going to be the biggest tour she’s ever done," featuring stadiums and arenas. The tour will be planned with Live Nation and her music manager, Guy Oseary. 

If Billboard's sources are correct, Madonna's 2023 tour will be her first-ever live retrospective. The singer will reportedly perform music from her extensive discography, from her 1983 debut to her most recent album, 2019's Madame X. She's also rumoured to perform multiple nights at London's O2 Arena.

The pop music icon hasn't toured Australia since 2016, following a 23-year wait between visits.

"The thing is, it's fucking Madonna," The Music reviewer Liz Giuffre wrote that year. "Let's keep this shit about lateness, messiness and controversy in context. She has always said what she thought, she has always worn her heart on her sleeve (and sleeves, pants and tops were optional), and she has also done the 'inappropriate' thing when she sensed there was a sensitive spot she could spank. All the chatter has overshadowed her music (nothing new, there), but that's a damn shame. Her music, her show, her performance, remains spectacular."

In October last year, Madonna marked the 30th anniversary of her provocative coffee table book, S.E.X., reflected on its impact and implied that Cardi B, Miley Cyrus, and Kim Kardashian should be thankful for paving the way for them via her Instagram stories.

"Thirty years ago, I published a book called S.E.X. In addition to photos of me naked, there were photos of Men kissing Men, Woman kissing Woman and Me kissing everyone. I also wrote about my sexual fantasies and shared my point of view about sexuality in an ironic way," she wrote. 

"I spent the next few years being interviewed by narrow-minded people who tried to shame me for empowering myself as a Woman. I was called a whore, a witch, a heretic and the devil."

She continued, "Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP. Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball."

Reflecting on Madonna's legacy, The Music's Cyclone Wehner wrote, "Accepting Billboard's Woman of the Year award in 2016, the superstar delivered a raw speech about her experiences with misogyny. She emphasised, too, how female artists are punished for ageing. "You will be criticised, you will be vilified, and you will definitely not be played on the radio." Madonna concluded wryly, "People say I'm controversial. But I think the most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around."