This image set by Olga, M-Tribe's longtime Team member from Russia wraps up our series of reports and image galleries from the St. Petersburg show of the Sticky & Sweet Tour.
"I only just came from Saint Petersburg. And yes! I've seen THE SHOW" - Olga writes. "It was an amazing adventure. So many unusual things have happened in that magical city. And one of them was the fact that everyone could see how stage and all the equipments were building up during about four days. I stayed around the corner of the Palace Square so I could see when I wished to..."
"I'm sending you 16 photos. Some of them were even made from the window of Hermitage Museum (the Palace). I know that some lucky museum workers could watch the concert from the palace balconies.
Thanks to our Team member Olga. Please keep sharing your 2009 Tour pictures and reports by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
Live in S.Petersburg: Palace Square gallery by DMG
Russian memories continue to storm the MadonnaTribe news page with 24 new pictures from the Sticky & Sweet concert at the Palace Square in St.Petersburg shared by M-Tribe reader DMG.
Click on the preview images below to check them all.
Thanks to DMG. Share your 2009 Tour pictures by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
Live in S.Petersburg: Palace Square gallery by Dimon
12 new great pictures from the Madonna concert at the Palace Square in St. Petersburg shared by M-Tribe Community member Dimon have been added to our Sticky & Sweet Tour Galleries.
Click on the preview images below to check them all.
Thanks to Dimon. Share your 2009 Tour pictures by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
M-Tribe reader Sergius took some pictures of the scene constructions for Madonna's performance on Palace Square while he was visiting the Hermitage in St. Petersburg on August 2nd. Then he went of course to yjr fan-zone A (golden circle) to enjoy the show!
His pictures have now been added to our Sticky & Sweet Tour Galleries. Click on the preview images below to check them out.
Thanks to Sergius. Share your 2009 Tour pictures by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
Live in S.Petersburg: Organization bad, Madonna good. Best.
Let's get a short trip on memory lane to the Sticky & Sweet concert in Russia on August 2nd with a few more image galleries and reports shared by the Tribers over the past week. The first one is a report from the show at Palace Square by our reader Vivaanna who also sent in 30 great images from the night and one desktop wallpaper for our readers, click on any of the preview images below to check them all at our Sticky & Sweet Tour Galleries.
Saint Petersburg fan report. Organization bad, Madonna good. Best.
It was the first Madonna show in Saint-Petersburg, Russia and it was the worst event organization I’ve ever met. We came to Palace Square at 2.30 p.m. and stood in line. We were the first in front of entrances so we had all chances to be in first row near the stage.
At 16.00 we were told that we had to leave Palace Square without explanations and go back from venue approximately 300 m. Why we had to leave square? Why did they allow us to come here earlier? There were people who came there at 6 p.m. They were not very happy with this situation. There were the mess, we didn’t understand, what’s happened, why we had to leave square, where to go and where the new entrance would be and no one could explain us. After 2,5 hours of walking around the historical center of Saint Petersburg we got to Palace Square in our golden circle sector.
I was so tired with organization mess that I was absolutely powerless and was so sorry that I came to Saint Petersburg instead of going to Finland where I would avoid all these problems. I am Madonna’s fan for sixteen years, I saw her show in Paris 2006, Moscow 2006, Amsterdam 2008 and that time came to Saint Petersburg from Moscow. So I had one thought, when it all finished at last?
The crowd was not very hot like e.g. in Paris. They didn’t screaming or waving before the show.
The tour merchandise included tour program, 3 types of T-shorts, 1 wristband and bages, no books, caps, CDs. It was only 10% of the whole tour merchandise assortment. Awful!
Paul Oakenfold played song of legend Saint Petersburg band "Kino" who were very popular in Russia in 1980th. The crowd went crazy.
The show started about 9.30 p.m. Madonna was in good mood and looked happier than last summer. «Miles Away» she dedicated to Russia. Also Madonna told that she is happy to be in such beautiful city and happy to play on Palace Square near Hermitage (famous Russian museum) and added: «Let’s make history!». One of musicians from «gipsy band» was Russian one and had birthday that day and he told us in fluent russian «Hi everyone!».
My favorite moment was «Like a Prayer», I think it was culmination of the show. During first section Madonna couldn’t take off jacket for a sometime.
The bad organization damped my spirits and impression. But Madonna was good. Best. As usual. I hope if Madonna come to Petersburg next time Live Nation will find more professional promotion company as they partner in Russia. The local promoter PMI is absolutely unprofessional company. Or we will to boycott show and will go to Finland or somewhere in Europe where the professional show organization is.
Thanks to Vivaanna. Share your 2009 Tour pictures by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
Live in S.Petersburg: Palace Square gallery by Rinat
M-Tribe's longtime correspondent from Russia Rinat has sent in his images from the Madonna concert in St. Petersburg and also an interesting look at how the Sticky & Sweet Tour was built in the Palace Square.
Another reason making last Sunday's show unique, the stage and all the equipments were being assembled while the square was not completely shut to the public, and therefore the lucky fans who decided to have a look at the work in progress managed to see much more behind the scenes stuff than what you'd expect from a traditional show.
One of them was Rinat's friend Evgeny, a familiar face to many Tribers, who took several photographs while Rinat was flying from Barcelona to Moscow last week. His pictures, together with more images from the day of the concert - that started under a nice sun but was later on stormed by the rain - are part of a first gallery that you can check out by clicking any of the preview images above.
More than 140 images from the Madonna performance, also shared by Rinat, can be seen in a separate Sticky & Sweet Tour Gallery, click on the preview images below to check them out.
Thanks to Evgeny and Rinat.
Much more from the Russian show is coming soon on MadonnaTribe.com.
24 images from the Russian stop of the Sticky & Sweet Tour - the August 2nd concert in St. Petersburg shared by M-Tribe reader Or have just been added to our Sticky & Sweet Tour Galleries.
These new images include some great shots of Madonna performing in daylight and in the awesome and totally unusual setting of the Palace Square - giving to some iconic moments of the show you see below a completely different vibe.
Click on the preview images below to check them all
Thanks to Or. Share your 2009 Tour pictures by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
Live in S.Petersburg: More Palace Square images by Dima
M-Tribe reader Dima has sent in more images from the Sticky & Sweet show in St. Petersburg. To check out the full size version of these new pictures and the complete set please visit our Sticky & Sweet Tour Galleries - click on any of the preview below to get there now.
Thanks to Dima. Share your 2009 Tour pictures by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
Live in S.Petersburg: Palace Square gallery by ILYA
More than 70 fantastic pictures from the Madonna concert at the Palace Square in St. Petersburg shared by M-Tribe reader ILYA from Moscow have been added to our Sticky & Sweet Tour Galleries.
Click on the preview images below to check them all.
Thanks to ILYA. Share your 2009 Tour pictures by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
The Hermitage Museum issued a statement about the maximum sound level registered on the Palace Square during the Madonna concert in St. Petersburg last Sunday.
The sound reached 106.4 dB in the square, and 80 dB inside the museum behind the closed windows. The authorized maximum was 85 dB.
The loudest music played not during the Madonna show but during the Paul Oakenfold set.
Live in S.Petersburg: Palace Square gallery by Mr_Enigma
15 more photos of Madonna performing in the incredible location of the Palace Square in St. Petersburg on Sunday night have been added to our Sticky & Sweet Tour Galleries.
These new images have been shared by M-Tribe reader Mr-Enigma and you can check them all by clicking any of the preview pictures below.
Thanks to Mr_Enigma. Share your 2009 Tour pictures by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
Live in S.Petersburg: Palace Square gallery by Dima
The images below - part of a gallery of nine images from last night's show in the Palace Square shared by M-Tribe reader Dima - can give you an idea of how amazingly unique the location of the Sticky & Sweet concert in St. Petersburg was. To check out the full size version of these pictures and the complete set please visit our Sticky & Sweet Tour Galleries - click on any of the preview below to get there now.
Thanks to Dima. Share your 2009 Tour pictures by sending an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
Live in S.Petersburg: Palace Square gallery by Artur
More than 50 great images from last night's Sticky & Sweet concert at the Palace Square in St. Petersburg have been shared by Artur, team member of fellow Russian Depeche Mode fansite dep-mod.ru.
Check them all at our Tour Galleries - click on the preview pictures below to check get there now.
Thanks to Artur. To share your 2009 Tour pictures and review please send an email to share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!
Live in S.Petersburg: Sticky and Sweet in the Russian press
Both the Moscow and the St. Petersburg editions of the Russian "Metro" cover the news from Palace Square today, with the local edition also focusing on what Madonna was up to during her stay in the beautiful city, and the anticipation of her fans for the Sticky & Sweet show.
The Queen of Pop also made the cover of the weekend supplement of "Kommersant" on Friday. Click the images below to enlarge the scans.
Live in S.Petersburg: Palace Square gallery by Lollapalooza
Here are some of the pictures from the Madonna concert at the Palace Square in Saint Petersburg shared by M-Tribe Community member Lollapalooza.
Madonna is taking the chance to enjoy more of the beauty, history and culture of this year's Russian tour location by sightseeing and visiting monuments in St. Petersburg - and the local press is heavilingly covering her stay with images, videos and reports. To keep up with all the latest from Russia don't forget to check out the dedicate topics in the MadonnaTribe Forum:
Live in S.Petersburg: ''Thank you Russia, see you next time!''
Madonna played Saint Petersburg tonight and the Tribers got a fantastic series of live updates from the show in the MadonnaTribe Forum thanks to our Communty members Lollapalooza, who texted from the Palace Square, and djs collecting and reposting the updates. Here is a short breakdown of how the concert was.
It rained in the afternoon, but the weather turned to sunny later on. Can't get to the square - the Nevsky Prospekt is closed. Guys in queue at the square complain that the police forces them out. Bad.
Tryed to detour, but they blocked the whole Nevsky. Not letting tourist, pedestrians or even local residents through.
Soundcheck started. "Candy Shop" is on. Got as close as I could, but no idea how to get in or when will they let us in.
This is getting crazy - people who queued at night and from early morning are now sent running along the Nevsky back and forth. Madonna performed "Beat Goes On" and "Human Nature".
They removed everyone from the Nevsky Prospekt. People who were waiting all night are f*cked up!
"Into the Groove" is on.
Worst ever organization. People from different sectors sent to just one entrance to the sealed area - corner of Nevsky and Moika river. This is going to ba a huge mess for fans and regular spectators. Not to mention the people whocant get to their homes!
They kinda started letting people in, one in a time. Some friends are by the square now at metal detectors. They say there is danger of stampede...
I'm through. Gold Circle is small. Nice. The stage is high. People in front won't see much. Sunny so far.
Sound equipment directed straight front from the stage towards the Alexandrivsky garden, not a single degree to the sides to avoid echo and damage to the buildings. Clouds and some wind coming, not hot anymore...
Local time 7.15 PM: Paul Oakenfold is on with his set. People up and dancing.
Paul is playing some great Russian music. Very cool!!! People love it.
Drizzling now... Umbrellas up, no stage view for anyone - those close see nothing anyway and block other people's view with umbrellas...
It's raining still. Paul is playing "Celebration". Good reaction. Jesus dancing on stage too.
8.00 PM local time: Heavy rain. Paul Oaneknfold finished his set with "Celebration". People chanted the swear word she said in her concert ad. Now back rows scream "remove f*ing umbrellas".
8.45 PM local time: Everyone is wet through... Terrible... They are trying to wipe the stage... Rain stopped for now, but clouds are not looking good.
9.25 PM local time: Show has started... in daylight!
In "Candy Shop" the dancer couldn't take her jacket off. Side screens don't work properly. "Beat Goes On" "alright Saint Petersburg" got a roar from the crowd!
Madonna is all smiles. Big "Thank You" after "Beat Goes On". She threw her hat away after first verse and chorus of "Vogue" but the inner part of the hat is in left in her hair!
Someone threw pink bunny on stage. She didn't throw it away immediately. Held in hands for some time. Before "Holiday" people chanting the swear word "ohuenno" - fucking awesome...
She dedicated "Miles Away" to Russia.
The Kolpakov Trio are singing an extra song after "Doli Doli". She introduced them as her Romani friends from Russia.
She just made quite a long speech - She told the crowd they can't imagine how she feels playing on the Palace Square surrounded by the beauty of the city, and that she's lucky to be able to perform in this historic place.
It is Arkady's (the violinists) birthday. Heart shaped balloons in the audience for "You Must Love Me".
"Get Stupid" is now on, and we're into the final section of the show...
Game over! She said "Thank you Russia, see you next time" and kept waving her hand until she had disappeared. And one final, but important, comment about the show: she didn't swear at all, not a single word!!!
Special thanks to our Communty members Lollapalooza and djs.
Live in S.Petersburg: Madonna arriving in St. Petersburg
M-Tribe reader Alex managed to take these pictures of Madonna arriving at the Pulkovo airport at around 8 PM yesterday evening ahead of her concert in Saint Petersburg tomorrow night.
Live in S.Petersburg: St. Petersburg gets Sticky and Sweet
MadonnaTribe reader Alexandr has sent in these pictures of Madonna arriving at her hotel in St. Petersburg yesterday evening, a few Sticky & Sweet Tour cast members being greeted and posing with the fans, and three images of the Palace Square getting ready for tomorrow's show.
Click on the images below to enlarge.
Live in S.Petersburg: St. Petersburg News and Updates
Next stop on the Sticky & Sweet Tour itinerary is the August 2nd concert at the Palace Square in St. Petersburg.
The MadonnaTribe readers may have checked the work in progress at the beautiful location of Madonna's second live show in Russia ever thanks to the live webcam showing the stage being built - below you can find a few images from the past 48 hours.
In the meanwhile, Madonna and the Tour crew arrived in St. Petersburg and there's no need to say her presence is already making the headlines in the local media.
To check out all the updates you can login to our Forum for the St. Petersburg News and Updates dedicated topic started by our Community member Lollapalooza - where you can also post your own contributions, or simply check the latest from Russia.
Live in S.Petersburg: Madonna urged to sing revolutionary anthem
Russian Communists urged Madonna to sing a revolutionary anthem like the Marseillaise when she performs in Russia on August 2 near the palace stormed by the Bolsheviks in 1917.
The pop singer should make a gesture of modesty and respect during her concert on St. Petersburg’s Palace Square next to the Winter Palace, the Communists of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region said in an open letter published yesterday on their web site. They urged Madonna to don a sailor’s striped vest and to sing one of the favorite revolutionary tunes as tribute to the Great October Socialist Revolution, according to the letter.
Madonna will make her second concert appearance in Russia as part of her Sticky and Sweet tour, performing in the country’s second biggest city and its former imperial capital.
Her first Russian concert three years ago in Moscow was marred by protests of Christian Orthodox activists who objected to her performance of the pop ballad Live to Tell, where she sings wearing a crown of thorns while dangling from a cross.
The storming of the Winter Palace on Oct. 25, 1917, according to the Julian calendar, has been seen as the climax of the Russian revolution when Bolsheviks overthrew the so-called provisional government and secured their grip on power following Tsar Nicholas II’s abdication earlier that year. The Winter Palace now houses the Hermitage Museum.
The next stop on the Sticky & Sweet Tour itinerary after the second concert in Oslo taking place tomorrow night is St. Petersburg, Russia.
M-Tribe reader Nikita is going to attend the Madonna concert on August 2nd and wants to share the link of a live webcam were you can watch the stage being built - and refresh the image by clicking the "Обновить" button.
Also from St. Petersburg, M-Tribe contributor Azzurro shares these pictures he took yesterday of the work in progress at the Palace Square ready to get Sticky & Sweet - click to zoom.
Sonya and bander_az from fellow Russian fan community Madonna Does It Better - part of the www.vkontakte.ru social network - would like to spread the word to the Tribe readers and all the Madonna fans about the flash mob they're going to conduct in St. Petersburg for the Sticky & Sweet Tour.
"As you all know, Madonna is to perform on August 2nd in St. Petersburg. All Russian fans (and fans from contiguous countries as well) can't help waiting for the show. We've prepared something special for Madonna and we wanna make you aware of it."
"You also know that Madonna performed in Moscow about 3 years ago and at that show (September, 12 2006) she did something that she's not really used to. Madonna deviated from set list and sang Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance". Honestly speaking, the audience wasn't ready to sing along with Madonna. But now at the St.Petersburg show we want to rehabilitate ourselves by singing "Give Peace a Chance" for *M*."
"We're gonna sing near the hotel, where Madonna will stay and during the soundcheck. But moreover, we're gonna wear special t-shirts with the phrase "Give Peace a Chance".
We want to invite everybody, who agrees to give peace a chance and show Madonna their love to support us, Russian fans, join us in the social network vkontakte.ru (you need to be registered).
70 people have already agreed to participate in the flash mob "Give Peace a Chance".
Live in S.Petersburg: Sticky n Sweet posters in Russia
This picture of one of the posters advertising the Sticky & Sweet Tour concert in Saint Petersburg on August 2nd has been shared by our reader Alex from Moscow. Click on the image below to enlarge.
Live in S.Petersburg: Russian museum gives the Madonna concert a go
The director of Russia's world-famous State Hermitage Museum has given permission for U.S. pop star Madonna to give a concert on Palace Square, the concert promoters said on Thursday.
"Hermitage Director Mikhail Piotrovsky signed the documentation allowing the concert by Madonna on Dvortsovaya Ploshchad (Palace Square). All requirements for holding concerts on Dvortsovaya Ploshchad have been met," the promoter Planet Plus said.
Piotrovsky requested Madonna to guarantee that her concert would contain no swearing or blasphemy. He also expressed doubts whether Palace Square in the heart of St. Petersburg was a suitable place for the concert.
St. Petersburg's culture committee earlier gave approval for the concert.
Some 50,000 Madonna fans are expected to attend the concert and the show's promoter said earlier most tickets had already been sold or reserved before the official launch on March 16.
"The number of tickets available is decreasing fast," the promoters said.
Live in S.Petersburg: Tickets and posters from Russia
Thanks to M-Tribe reader Artur for sending in the scans of the Fan Zone A and Reserved Seat tickets for the Sticky & Sweet Tour concert in Saint Petersburg, together with a picture of an advertisement from the central tickets office.
Click to zoom.
Live in S.Petersburg: Palace Square, Sticky and Sweet
Here is a look at the set-up of the Madonna stage for the Sticky & Sweet concert at the Palace Square in St. Petersburg, Russia, on August 2nd in an original image elaborated by the MadonnaTribe Team on a scheme by official ticket vendor kassir.ru.
It is interesting to notice how the stage will occupy the Northern side of the square creating a stunning visual backdrop to the Admiralteyskiy Prospekt. To place the stage on the side of the venue is an interesting approach in a heavily symmetrical space and will also maximize the available space for the audience.
Update. A dedicated fan club presale was scheduled for this morning but it is now listed as "Not Available" on the Tour page. Icon members who are looking for tickets for this concert should check the Madonna.com forum as soon as possible for updates.
Madonna will be paid her "lowest-ever" fee for her Sticky & Sweet concert in St. Petersburg on August 2nd, the concert's promoter said Wednesday.
"It will be the lowest fee in the whole history of Madonna" PMI Corporation president Yevgeny Finkelshtein was quoted by Russian agency RIA Novosti as saying. "She will really receive a smaller sum, but she wanted to come to St. Petersburg herself." Finkelshtein did not give a figure for the fee.
Madonna will be performing on Paratroopers Day, a notoriously rowdy holiday when servicemen usually gather on Palace Square. "They may be moved to the Field of Mars", Finkelshtein said. Reports also said that access to the adjacent Alexander Park will be closed the day of the event and also parts of the famous Nevsky Prospect will be shut for security reasons.
50,000 tickets will go on sale March 16, costing from 2,000 rubles ($55).
Details of the much talked about Sticky & Sweet concert in Russia have been finally announced by Madonna's official website today.
The Tour will visit St. Petersburg for a night to remember on August 2, 2009, when Madonna will hit thr stage at the Palace Square.
The public ticket sale for the event starts on March 16 at 10 AM local time.
A dedicated fan club pre sale will take place tomorrow, Thursday, March 12. Please check madonna.com for details.
Saint Petersburg fan report. Organization bad, Madonna good. Best.
General Admission: 2000 rub (approx. 45 €)
