RUSSIA: Heavy security in Moscow ahead of Madonna concert; Russian Church urge her to tone down act

There was heavy security in Moscow on Tuesday (September 12), as hundreds of fans of American pop star Madonna arrived at the city's Luzhniki stadium for the controversial star's first concert in Russia. Police with dogs and soldiers threw a security cordon around the stadium as helicopters hovered overhead. Only a handful of protesters from a radical Orthodox group, Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers, managed to get near the stadium, where they staged a silent protest against Madonna. At a second location in the centre of Moscow, another Orthodox church group, calling itself "Resurrection", floated a giant balloon with a "Madonna Go Home!" message on it. Russia's Orthodox Church made a last-minute plea to Madonna to drop symbols of the crucifixion from her stage show in Moscow. The 48-year-old pop star has outraged Christian groups across Europe by staging a mock crucifixion and wearing a crown of thorns on her global "Confessions" tour. Russians lap up visits by Western pop stars who have made sporadic trips since the 1991 fall of communism and despite the strong church reaction, the event has been an instant sell-out. Hundreds of fans kept vigil to welcome her when she flew in to one of Moscow's VIP airports by private jet on Monday night (September 11) and then was whisked by convoy to a city centre hotel, a short walk from the Kremlin. Madonna, a lapsed Roman Catholic whose shows have been denounced by the Vatican, has attracted accusations of blasphemy throughout her career. In the finale of her "Confessions" show, she sings while suspended from a cross. An estimated 50,000 fans are expected to pack the Luzhniki stadium to see Madonna perform the last concert of her European "Confessions" tour.

ITN Source | September 13, 2006

Tags:. .staging. .staged. .heavy. .cross. .arrived