Madonna resuming Sticky & Sweet tour

Madonna performs on the opening night of her ''Sticky & Sweet'' tour at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff August 23, 2008.

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Madonna will crank up her Sticky & Sweet tour again this summer with about 25 more shows in the U.K. and Europe. The initial trek wrapped December 21 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The final leg of the tour -- already the top-grossing tour ever by a female or solo artist -- will start in London at the O2 Arena on July 4. Madonna also will play the Manchester (U.K.) Evening News Arena. The rest of the shows on the tour will be at stadiums in European markets that Madonna has never played or hasn't played in several years, according to tour producer Arthur Fogel, chairman of global music for Live Nation. The complete route and list of venues will be released Friday (January 30).

Adding another leg to a tour is a highly unusual move for Madonna. "It absolutely has not happened in the four tours I've been involved with," Fogel told Billboard.com. "There has been talk (of extending) during each one, but it has never come to be. But with this one, she loves the show, she's had a great time and she's excited about playing new markets."

The extension will take Sticky & Sweet to around 80 shows, and boost it well into the top five grossing tours of all time. Despite the more than six-month break, the tour will feature the same production and performers as in 2008.

The Sticky & Sweet tour was the first under a 10-year multi-rights agreement between Madonna and Live Nation, valued in some reports at about $120 million.

Reuters/Billboard