Madonna is having a huge party and everyone’s invited. The Madonna 2012 World Tour begins May 29th 2012 in Tel Aviv, Israel it was officially announced by Live Nation Entertainment, the tour’s international promoter.

The shows will include arenas, stadiums and special outdoor sights including the Plains of Abraham in Quebec and a return visit to South America as well as Australia where she has not performed in 20 years. The tour will stop in 26 European cities including London, Paris, Milan and Berlin.

The first of 26 North American shows is scheduled for August 28th in Philadelphia and includes a September 6th show in NY’s Yankee Stadium and an October 10th performance at LA’s Staples Center. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale beginning February 10th in Tel Aviv and the United Kingdom, with North American tickets going on sale beginning February 13th. Tickets for North America are available at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. A complete itinerary of Madonna 2012 follows this release.

Madonna’s previous tour, the phenomenally successful “Sticky & Sweet” Tour reaffirmed her status as one of the most successful touring artists of all time. The historic tour included such incredible touring feats as a 70,000 seat sell-out in Werchter, Belgium, an 85,000 sell-out in Helsinki (the largest show ever in the Nordic countries by a solo artist), a 40,000 ticket sell-out in Oslo, Norway, and 72,000 tickets sold out in one day in Tallinn Estonia.

Other record breaking ticket sales around the globe include 650,000 tickets sold in her series of South American dates, 72,000 tickets at Zurich’s Dubendorf Airfield – the largest audience ever assembled for a show in Switzerland, 75,000 tickets in London and four sell outs inNew York’s Madison Square Garden (60,364 tickets).

The announcement of Madonna’s 2012 World Tour follows an extraordinary week which included a monumental extravaganza of a performance at the Bridgestone Super Bowl Halftime which was seen in over 200 countries by over a billion people. Last week also saw the release of Madonna’s new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin” from her highly anticipated new album MDNA on Live Nation Entertainment/Interscope Records – scheduled to be released on March 26th.

Pre orders have already catapulted MDNA to No. 1 on iTunes in 51 countries including the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain,Canada, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands. The single’s  video directed by Megaforce which also stars Nicki Minaj and MIA previewed on American Idol. Additionally, the Madonna directed Golden Globe Award winning film “W.E.” opened in NY and LA with other markets to follow later in the month.

“Madonna’s track record as a world class entertainer and touring artist speaks for itself. Her artistry, talent and creative productions get bigger and better with each tour and Madonna 2012 will be no exception. We are thrilled to have her back on the road and know her fans feel the same,” commented Arthur Fogel, CEO Live Nation Entertainment Global Touring and Madonna tour promoter.

In the course of her phenomenal career, Madonna has a record breaking 37 Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles Chart along with a record breaking 40 Number 1′s on Billboard’s Dance/Club Play Song Charts. No other act has more Top 10′s on the Hot 100 or Number 1′s on the Club Chart.

Madonna has sold over 300 million albums and holds the record for the most successful tour by a solo artist in history. She is a seven time Grammy winning singer, songwriter, producer and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Her last CD “Hard Candy,” debuted at Number 1 in 37 countries including US, UK, Canada, France and Australia. Madonna 2012 World Tour is the Material Girl’s 9th Tour. Her first tour was the 1985 Virgin Tour.

Madonna’s recent Golden Globe winning song “Masterpiece” from The Weinstein Company film  “W.E.” as well as “W.E. Music From The Soundtrack “W.E.” film have both been released digitally on Interscope Records. A physical release will be in stores in the UK on February 6th and on February 14th in the US.

US residents ordering tickets online to a US performance will receive their choice of a digital or physical copy of Madonna’s new MDNA album with every ticket purchased.

Citi is the official credit card of the US leg of Madonna’s upcoming world tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Wednesday, Feb. 8th at 10am through Citi’s Private Pass Program. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.

Icon is Madonna’s official fan club. Lifetime Legacy members of Icon will receive first access to tickets and VIP Packages starting February 7, 2012. Registered free Icon members will have the opportunity to purchase an “Icon Live Pass,” which gives them access not only to ticket & VIP Package pre-sales, but also to a tour devoted forum and an exclusive tour gift. Fans can sign up for a free Icon membership at Madonna.com today.

VIP Packages will are available through VIP Nation, including premium seats, exclusive merchandise and more. For more information please visit: www.VIPNation.com viagogo, Europe’s leading secondary ticketing company (www.viagogo.co.uk), has been named as the Official Premium and Secondary Ticketing Partner for Madonna’s 2012 summer tour dates across Europe.

Viagogo will handle premium tickets for select shows this summer, offering fans the chance to see one of the most anticipated concert tours of the year. Fans that can no longer use their tickets will be able to resell them to other fans through viagogo’s secure online platform, and, as always, all tickets are guaranteed.

photoproject.eu / Shutterstock.com

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Israeli women have been under pressure for years to sit in the back of buses that serve strictly religious Jews. Like Rosa Parks, women are beginning to fight back against discrimination. A young solider named Doron Matalon said she was at the front of the bus after a night shift at her Jerusalem base on Wednesday morning last week. When an ultra-Orthodox man boarded the bus, he told her to go sit in the back. “I said that I have the right to sit here,” she stated. “Then a commotion ensued, and other people gathered around and started shouting…. It was scary.”

The situation drew media attention and highlighted tensions in Israel as ultra-Orthodox Jews move beyond Jerusalem’s urban enclaves and Bnei Brak, a Tel Aviv suburb where they have resided for decades. As they look for jobs and houses in new areas, they interact more with mainstream Israelis, who view their strict religious code as a threat to democracy. “It’s a slippery slope. What starts with women boarding the bus in the back because of modesty can end up with women not voting,” affirmed Mickey Gitzin, the director of Be Free Israel, a nonprofit that promotes religious pluralism. “It could turn Israeli society into a segregated society in which women don’t have a place in public life.”

Public outrage grew this past week following a news report on the harassment of an eight-year-old girl by a group of ultra-Orthodox men. They thought she was dressed immodestly, so they spat on her and accused her of being a prostitute. This event caused thousands of people to protest against the segregation of women on December 27. A counterprotest followed two days later, which resulted in clashes in Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem.

The Haredi rabbis of Beit Shemesh claimed their women voluntarily observed the segregation and modesty rules for their own honor. Other ultra-Orthodox Jews do not disagree with the segregation of men and women, but went on the defensive, one man, Israel Eichler, saying “The problem is that they want to make a secular state in the Holy Land. That’s what creates the friction.” He is a parliament member from the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party. Eichler thinks that the secular media of Israel is focusing on the discrimination against women as a way to attack Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a political ally of the Haredis, who has denounced the segregation of men and women in the past.

Since the first public buses went into operation 14 years ago in Jerusalem, discrimination against women has grown to men-only sidewalks in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, the steady disappearance of women from Jerusalem’s billboards, and segregated waiting rooms at health clinics. Haredi birthrates are double the average families in Israel, and economists believe that since Haredi men do not work, they will hurt the economy. The liberal Israel Religious Action Center petitioned the Supreme Court to ban segregation on public buses after complaints of discrimination were made. In January 2011, the court said forced segregation was illegal, but the buses could continue to operate for one year on a voluntary basis.

Their ruling showed the problem Israel’s government faces in deciding how to address religious and national groups that do not accept its principles. “The deeper question is how does a democracy deal with separatist fundamentalist communities in its midst,” asserted Yossi Klein Halevi, a fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. “Israel’s great domestic challenge is to figure out the balance between allowing cultural autonomy and reinforcing its sovereign authority.” The one-year trial period is about to end, and petitioners say that they will bring up the issue with the Supreme Court again. However, Matalon believes it might be too late. She is afraid of riding the bus and no longer uses it out of her fear of being harassed. “It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last time,” she said.

Image Courtesey of   Alex E. Proimos

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