More on Lisbon
The international press has started reprising the news coming from Portugal about the Lisbon shows of the re-Invention tour being cancelled.
With still no official word from Madonna’s online website, www.madonna.com and her fan club Icon, it looks like that the news mix recent events and old rumours.
Our friend Bart informed us that the Dutch national press agency ANP reports that the concerts have been indeed cancelled and that the organisers of the Mana Church convention don’t want to relocate their event. Mana leader Jorge Tadeu said “we don’t trade Jezus for Madonna”.
No word on any other date or venue to relocate the Portuguese gig.
News agency AFP also gives special importance to the role of the Mana Church, with an article titled “Madonna cancels Portugal concert following row with church” that you can read in the Full Article below.
But the Portuguese mistery may be not so easy to solve, with more actors involved, according to reports from Lisbon.
While we prefer to stuck to the press reports and wait for an official statement from Madonna‘s camp, we suggest you to have a look at our Portuguese and English Tour Forums for the latest updates.
Madonna cancels Portugal concert following row with church
Lisbon (AFP) – Pop superstar Madonna (news – web sites) has cancelled what would have been her first-ever concert in Portugal after a row with an evangelical church, local media reported.
The superstar was scheduled to bring her “ReInvention” concert tour to the 12,000-seat Atlantic Pavilion in Lisbon on September 12, according to concert promoters Tournee who booked the space in April for September 9-13.
But after the concert had been announced, the Lisbon-based Mana Christian Church said it had already booked the grounds for September 8-11 to hold a “Convention of Faith.”
The church said it had reserved the grounds in February and it has refused to change the booking despite pleas from fans and an offer of a 25,000 euro (30,000 dollar) donation from Tournee.
Jorge Tadeu, a self-proclaimed apostle and founder of the church, told daily tabloid Correio da Manha last month he was “revolted” by those who “want to exchange Jesus for Madonna”.
“In our understanding God is moving the Christian church to defeat Goliath,” he added.
“We feel the pressure from Madonna is not restricted to the Mana church, but is part of a wider battle between the devil and Christ.”
The Mana Church said in a statement issued Friday to national news agency Lusa that it had been informed by the singer’s legal representative in Europe, John Giddings, that the concert would no longer take place.
Madonna kicked off her latest world tour, her first in three years, in May in Los Angeles.
Her return to the concert stage has received mixed reviews, with some suggesting the 45-year-old mother of two had erred by swapping her trademark sexuality for a new-found spirituality.
Source: AFP