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June 10, 2012
Posted: 1315 GMT
![]() US pop icon Madonna performs on stage during her first ever concert in the Gulf as part of her MDNA world tour at Abu Dhabi's Yas Island Stadium on June 3, 2012. An estimated 25,000 fans cheered and screamed as the Material Girl finally appeared on stage more than two hours late, wearing a skin-tight black outfit from her "Girl Gone Wild" album. (MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/GettyImages) More than 20,000 fans waited in the warm weather for almost two hours before the 'Queen of Pop' Madonna kicked off her concert in Abu Dhabi last week, but her controversial performance is still echoing throughout the region today. Coming from Tel Aviv in Israel, where she debuted her world tour last week, Madonna opened her Abu Dhabi gig with a series of religious, sexual and violent acts that left fans in both countries both mesmerized and shocked. Some Madonna fans in the UAE, according to this columnist from Gulf Newspaper, were upset at the pop star for not abiding by their relatively conservative society. At least one Twitter user noted a contradiction:
Madonna opened her first act in Abu Dhabi with religious chants, and featured a huge cross on stage which was later cut in half. In a later scene, Madonna carried an AK-47 and used it – mockingly – to kill a few of the dancers on stage. She then proceeded to strip her clothes, albeit partially, leaving some fans with their jaws dropped in surprise. It wasn't just in the UAE. In Israel, a monitor behind Madonna's performance displayed an image of a female French politician with a swastika on her forehead. According to Haaretz Newspaper, the French politician is threatening to sue Madonna if the pop icon uses the image in any upcoming concerts in France. Here's some more reaction on Twitter from Madonna's Mideast performances:
Posted by: Aroub Abdelhaq
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