* stream is available only in UK

The superstar, who will headline the Main Stage on Saturday, said that Pharrell Williams or Justin Timberlake could appear.

She said: "I don't know if Justin is going to be there or not. So stay tuned. Maybe Pharrell will turn up if I'm lucky."

Both artists feature on her current Number One album Hard Candy.

The singer will play a 40 minute set of old and new hits for her first ever UK festival performance at the two day festival at Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent.

"I have never been to the Big Weekend before. I hear it's fun, is it crazy?" she said.

The singer also revealed that she will be bringing her family along for her performance at the Big Weekend.

"I will probably bring Lourdes with me and maybe Roco," she said. "They always come to the rehearsals but they're kind of over the whole stage show thing. They like to skateboard around."

Justin Timberlake recently joined Madonna onstage to perform 4 Minutes during a secret show in New York.

Speaking about her time in the studio with Timberlake, Timbaland and Pharrell, she said: "It was a little awkward at first because you don't really know them and you feel a little intimidated. Justin admitted to me the other day that he felt the same.

"As for Timbaland I experienced both sides of him. I experienced him being very up and jovial and communicative.

"Then other times he would come in put his headphones on, and not speak to anyone. So you'd be thinking 'OK he's in his own world'.

"So we'd go off and work with other musicians and Justin and I would be writing words together and it seemed like Timbaland wasn't paying attention.

"But he'd take off his headphones and go, 'No' or he'd turn around and put his thumb up. He's quite unique, you think he's not paying attention but he is."

More than 500,000 people registered for tickets for the two-day event this year which also feature performances from Usher, The Kooks, Editors and Duffy.

Across the two days and four stages, fans will enjoy more than 50 UK and international artists alongside DJs.

source : bbc

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the court in Lilongwe would hear a full review on May 15 of an 18-month interim custody order granted in 2006 for Madonna to adopt David Banda.

The court had also received recommendations from the ministry of women and child development to make the adoption permanent.

The document, referring to Madonna's filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie and herself, said: "Mr and Mrs Ritchie have shown a strong commitment in providing the infant with all essential needs like love, safe home environment, care, protection, material as well as emotional support."

The document, filed by an official of the ministry identified as Simon Chisale, said David, the son of peasant farmer Yohane Banda, had "bonded well with the couple and other key members of the household."

The report said David, plucked from an orphanage in poor health, "continues to develop into a happy thriving toddler. His survival, growth and development is excellent."

The celebrity couple were being monitored at their London home whether they were suitable parents for David by Malawian social workers.

The official said Madonna, who is expected to return to Malawi next week to continue her charity work, will not be required during the hearing, which will be held in camera.

"She will have to come to court to sign the full adoption documents later," the official said.

A coalition of rights groups, the Human Rights Consultative Committee, as "friends of the court" have challenged the adoption and are seeking a full review of the interim order granted to Madonna.

The interim order elapsed in April after it was controversially granted in 2006 allowing Madonna to take David out of Malawi.

The ruling sparked a heated debate about adoption laws in the poor southern African nation where AIDS has left one million orphans.

The rights groups claim that existing legislation does not allow for intra-country adoptions and accuse Madonna of using her vast wealth to fast-track the adoption process.

source : afp

Thanks to Burzyn from Ultimate-Madonna.com

The 49-year-old popstar is the headline act at the event, but wouldn't confirm whether her '4 Minutes' collaborator would be performing a cameo.

She told the BBC: "I don't know if [Justin Timberlake] is going to be there or not. We will see!

"But if he isn't we will have a video projection and will change around the choreography and everything."

Radio 1's Big Weekend takes place at Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent on May 10 and 11. Other artists playing the bash include The Kooks, Nelly, Usher and Duffy.

source : digitalspy

The North American leg of the "STICKY & SWEET TOUR" begins October 3rd at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with stops at New York's Madison Square Garden on October 6th and 7th, followed by performances in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and more before stopping at Miami's Dolphin Stadium on November 26th. Madonna's "STICKY & SWEET" tour will also visit Mexico and South America later this year. (Show dates, and on sale information in these markets will follow at a later date.)

Confirmed today by Guy Oseary, Madonna's manager and Arthur Fogel, Live Nation's CEO Global Touring and Chairman Global Music, who is producing the tour, "STICKY & SWEET" will play arenas and stadiums throughout Europe and North America including a number of cities where Madonna has not performed in the past fifteen years. "STICKY & SWEET" will be directed by Madonna's long time creative collaborator Jamie King. The musical director will be Kevin Antunes. The complete tour itinerary is listed below with additional cities and dates to be announced. For complete tour and ticket information, fans can visit: www.livenation.com and www.madonna.com. "HARD CANDY," Madonna's 11th studio album for Warner Bros. Records debuted at number one in 27 countries around the world thus far, including the USA, JAPAN, FRANCE, UK, GERMANY, CANADA, ITALY, AUSTRALIA, THE NETHERLANDS, SOUTH AFRICA, SWEDEN, DENMARK, IRELAND, FINLAND, AUSTRIA, CHILE, SPAIN, MEXICO, HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, SLOVENIA, PORTUGAL, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, SWITZERLAND, ISRAEL and U.A.E. The album has received Four Stars in Rolling Stone, Blender and People Magazine with The NY Daily News hailing "HARD CANDY" as Madonna's greatest album ever. Madonna's current smash single "4 Minutes" was co-written and co-produced by Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. "HARD CANDY" is the Number One most downloaded digital album in the U.S. and many other countries. Madonna's previous studio album "CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR" sold over 8.5 million copies

Madonna and Live Nation entered into a revolutionary partnership last fall and her last three worldwide tours were produced by Live Nation.

A multi-Grammy award winner and recent inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Madonna has long been known for groundbreaking multi-dimensional tours that consist of visual and audio extravaganzas with non-stop singing and breathtaking dancing. Madonna's last outing, 2006's acclaimed Confessions Tour played in 25 countries including Russia, reached a collective audience of over 1.3 million fans, and was the highest grossing concert tour of all time by a female artist.

"I'll be your one stop Candy Shop Everything that I've got"
Madonna "CANDY SHOP" from "HARD CANDY"

TICKETS: Tickets for "Sticky & Sweet" will go on sale beginning Friday, May 16th in London, Paris, Cardiff and Nice followed by on sales Saturday, May 17th in Amsterdam, Boston and Chicago with E. Rutherford and New York City on sale Monday, May 19th. Tickets will range from .00 through 0 (5.00 in Las Vegas) offering a variety of excellent seats at all price levels. Additional on-sales vary and are listed below or available at www.livenation.com and www.madonna.com . There will be a 4 ticket limit per person at the arena performances and a 6 ticket per person limit for stadium events.

MADONNA.COM: Icon is Madonna's official fan club. Legacy members of Icon get first access to tickets starting May 12th, 2008. Fan club members who join May 1st and later will not have access to presale tickets. However, all ticket buyers for the tour get a free trial one year Virtual Icon membership which provides access to the largest digital archive of Madonna photos online, a social networking community of dedicated Madonna fans, contests, news and much more. Sign up for Icon at Madonna.com today.

Citi: "We are proud to provide Citi® cardmembers with access to one of the most anticipated tours of 2008," said Vik Atal, Chairman and CEO, Citi Cards. "The Madonna tour is a great example of the benefits of our alliance with Live Nation which enables us to offer our cardmembers exceptional experiences through our innovative Private Pass Program." Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday May 13th at 10am ET through Citi's Private Pass Program®. For complete presale details visit: privatepass.citi.com. *Applicable for Sticky & Sweet shows in the U.S.

www.stubhub.com: StubHub is the official fan-to-fan ticket marketplace for Madonna's North American Tour 2008.* StubHub is the world's largest ticket marketplace enabling fans to buy and sell tickets to a vast selection of nearly 30,000 sports, concert theatres and other live entertainment events. StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead through innovation. The company's unique online marketplace, dedicated solely to tickets, provides all fans the choice to buy or sell their tickets in a safe, convenient and highly reliable environment. All transactions are processed and delivered via StubHub's patent-pending Fan Network (SM ticket delivery service, supported by seven-day toll free customer service at 1-866-STUBHUB and backed by an industry-first Fan Protect Guarantee. *Applicable for Sticky & Sweet shows in Canada & the U.S. (excluding Mexico)

www.viagogo.co.uk: viagogo is the Official Premium Ticketing Partner for Madonna's European Tour 2008*. Premium tickets and VIP packages will be available from Friday 16th May on www.viagogo.co.uk. In addition, viagogo will be the Official Secondary Ticketing Exchange where fans can buy and sell their tickets. viagogo facilitates the exchange between someone who wants to sell and someone who wants to buy a ticket for a live event. It guarantees that buyers receive their tickets in time for the show and sellers receive payment. viagogo is Europe's leading ticket exchange. *Not applicable for Sticky & Sweet shows in Germany & Italy.

About Live Nation: Live Nation is the future of the music business. With the most live concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most comprehensive concert search engine on the web, Live Nation is revolutionizing the music industry; onstage and online. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." Additional information about the company can be found at www.livenation.com under the "About Us" section

MADONNA STICKY & SWEET TOUR ITINERARY 2008

Showdate - City - Venue - On sale Date:

23-Aug Cardiff Millennium Stadium Fri. May 16
26-Aug Nice Stade Charles Ehrmann Fri. May 16
28-Aug Berlin Olympic Stadium Wed. May 21
02-Sept Amsterdam Arena Sat. May 17
04-Sept Dusseldorf LTU Arena Wed. May 21
06-Sept Rome Olympic Stadium Fri. May 23
09-Sept Frankfurt Commerzbank Arena Wed. May 21
11-Sept London Wembley Stadium Fri. May 16
20-Sept Paris Stade de France Fri. May 16
03-Oct E. Rutherford Izod Center Mon. May 19
06-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
07-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
15-Oct Boston TD BankNorth Garden Sat. May 17
18-Oct Toronto Air Canada Centre Sat. May 24
22-Oct Montreal Bell Centre Sat. May 24
26-Oct Chicago United Center Sat. May 17
30-Oct Vancouver BC Place Stadium Sat. May 24
01-Nov Oakland Oracle Arena Sun. June 1
04-Nov San Diego Petco Park Sun. June 1
06-Nov Los Angeles Dodger Stadium Sun. June 1
08-Nov Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena Sat. May 31
11-Nov Denver Pepsi Center Sat. May 31
16-Nov Houston Minute Maid Park Sat. May 31
19-Nov Philadelphia Wachovia Center Mon. June 2
22-Nov Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Mon. June 2
24-Nov Atlanta Philips Arena Sat. M
26-Nov Miami Dolphin Stadium Sat. May 31

Thanks to Mike from madonnadownload.com

Billed as the Sticky and Sweet tour, Madonna's trek in support of her current chart-topping Warner Bros. release "Hard Candy" -- which debuted atop the Billboard 200 yesterday -- will play stadiums in the U.K. and Europe until the end of September, arenas and a "handful" of stadiums in 16 markets in North America in October and November, and then stadiums in Mexico and South America late November-December.

"I'm thrilled to be involved in another worldwide Madonna extravaganza," Arthur Fogel, chairman of global music for Live Nation, tells Billboard.com. Fogel has helmed Madonna's last three world tours, which grossed almost $400 million combined. Her 2006 Confessions tour is, at $194 million, the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist.

The upcoming tour is the first major manifestation of the multi-faceted
10-year deal between Madonna and Live Nation, valued in published reports at $120 million.

The reality is she's delivered her last album to Warner Bros., and it's a smash, which is great for everybody," Fogel says. "We now have a tremendous opportunity with a tremendous artist to do all kinds of new and innovative things on many different levels, and this tour will be the start of that rollout."

The tour follows a familiar Madonna touring blueprint in that it visits a limited number of markets in a four-month time frame, with multi-night stands in major cities. Ticket on-sale details will be announced today, along with a presale through Live Nation's corporate sponsorship partner Citi. Fogel says ticket prices will be "basically the same as they've been the past two tours," which means primarily in the $55-$350 range.

source : billboard

source : madonnalicious

source : variety

source : contactmusic