LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — George Michael will be the first artist to play a concert at the new Wembley Stadium on 9 June 2007 as part of his British and European Stadium tour.
The tour will kick start in Aarhus Stadium in Denmark on the 18 May and will visit Manchester, Glasgow, Plymouth and Norwich as well as France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Holland and Hungary.
The brand new 90,000 capacity Wembley Stadium is set to be one of the greatest entertainment venues in the world hosting some of the biggest and most exciting global events in the sports and music calendar.
Wembley Stadium has always featured prominently in Michael's career. He has played many of his most memorable concerts there, including Live Aid in 1985, Wham's farewell concert with Andrew Ridgeley in 1986, the Nelson Mandela concert in 1988, the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992 and Net Aid in 1999. Michael had no hesitation when the opportunity came along to play the first music concert at the new Wembley Stadium.
Alex Horne, Managing Director of Wembley Stadium, said: "It's fantastic news that George Michael is to play Wembley Stadium's opening concert. He's no stranger to this great stage having performed at the old stadium both with Wham! at Live Aid and also as a solo artist, so this is a fitting first gig in the new stadium.
I'm sure this will be a very hot ticket and we are looking forward to putting the stadium back on the world map as a major music destination…"
This announcement follows an extraordinary year for George Michael when in September 2006 he embarked on his sell-out '25 Live' European tour – his first in 15 years – and released his number one album, 'Twenty Five'.
Having sold-out in mere minutes, '25 Live' entertained over 650,000 delighted fans over the course of a 49 date tour, in 11 different countries, receiving unprecedented praise from fans and press alike:
The Sun said, "George proved he is simply one of the best vocalists this country has ever produced."
The Mail on Sunday said "King George still reigns supreme"
The Observer pronounced it as "a masterclass in pop genius".
George Michael is one of the world's most successful male artists, selling over 85 million records globally and encompassing 11 British No.1 singles, eight British No.1 albums and six US No.1 singles.
Tickets for all UK dates will go on sale on Thursday 8th March 2007 at 10am.
Tour Details:
Friday 18 May NRGI Park (Athletic Stadium), Aarhus, Denmark
Wednesday 23 May Nepstadion, Budapest, Hungary
Friday 25 May Inter Football Stadium, Bratislava, Slovakia
Monday 28 May LTU Arena, Dusseldorf
Saturday 2 June Strahov Football Stadium, Prague, Czech Republic
Wednesday 6 June RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland
Saturday 9 June Wembley Stadium, London
Tuesday 12 June Carrow Road, Norwich
Friday 15 June City Of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Sunday 17 June Hampden Park, Glasgow
Tuesday 19 June Home Park, Plymouth
Friday 22 June Stade de France, Paris, France
Saturday 23 June Werchter Open Air Park Belgium
Tuesday 26 June Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Holland
Friday 29 June Stockholm Stadium, Sweden
Sunday 1 July Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland
Tuesday 17 July Stadio Euganeo, Padova, Italy
Thursday 19 July Stadio, Lucca, Italy
Saturday 21 July Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
