Madonna Lands In Israel For Start Of World Tour

Madonna is ready for her MDNA world tour. The pop singer landed in Israel this weekend to prepare for the first show of her 2012 world tour in Tel Aviv.

Madonna will be playing over 80 shows this Summer across Europe and the Americas. The World Tour starts in Israel, the singer will then travel to Dubai, Rome, Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdan, and several other European cities before coming to North America for shows in Boston, New York, and Chicago. Several Canadian shows are also planed.

Madonna will then play a string of shows in South America before heading to Australia, where she hasn’t performed in over two decades.

This is Madonna’s first major world tour since her “Sticky and Sweet” tour in 2008. Madonna performed in Israel during the “Sticky and Sweet” tour and has also made several personal visits to the city.

Madonna isn’t Jewish but she does follow the Jewish mystic discipline of Kabbalah. The Associated Press reports that Madonna has also adopted the Hebrew name Esther. When she arrived in Israel this weekend, the local media reported that “Queen Esther has arrived.”

The AFP reports that Madonna landed in Israel several days before her show so that she could visit some of sacred landmarks. During the “Sticky and Sweet” tour, she met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

You can see the full schedule for Madonna’s world tour here? Are you excited to see Madonna in concert?

Madonna’s set list isn’t known, but it is rumored that she will sing a mash-up of her classic “Express Yourself” with Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”

“Born This Way” has been called a rip-off of “Express Yourself.” Madonna has even commented on the similarities between the two songs.

Here’s a video of the mash-up from one of the rehearsals in Tel-Aviv.