List of Madonna live performances

American singer Madonna has embarked on ten concert tours, nine of which have been worldwide. Her 1985 debut, The Virgin Tour, was based in North America only and was critically panned but went on to collect more than US $5 million. In 1987 she performed on the worldwide Who's That Girl World Tour, which visited Europe, North America and Japan. It was critically appreciated for Madonna's showmanship and "exquisite" dresses. She embarked on the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990, which Don Shewey of Rolling Stone called "the best tour of [the year]". The performances featured Madonna simulating masturbation during "Like a Virgin". Officials in Toronto threatened to arrest her unless she removed the masturbation sequence, and in Italy, the Pope called for a boycott. In 1993, Madonna visited Israel and Turkey for the first time, followed by Latin America and Australia, with The Girlie Show World Tour. Madonna opened the show dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix, surrounded by topless dancers of both sexes. A review in Time by Sam Buckley said: "Madonna, once the Harlow harlot and now a perky harlequin, is the greatest show-off on earth."

Madonna did not tour again until the Drowned World Tour in 2001. She played guitar and her costumes included a punkish tartan kilt and a geisha gown. Some critics complained that the show concentrated on material from her most recent albums, but generally the response was favorable. She grossed more than US $75 million with summer sold-out shows and eventually played in front of 730,000 people throughout North America and Europe. The Drowned World Tour was followed by the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. Madonna was inspired to create the tour after taking part in an art installation called X-STaTIC PRo=CeSS, directed by photographer Steven Klein. Billboard awarded Madonna the "Backstage Pass Award" in recognition of having the top-grossing tour of the year, with ticket sales of nearly US $125 million.

Madonna's next three tours broke world records, with the 2006 Confessions Tour grossing over US $194.7 million, becoming the highest-grossing tour ever for a female artist at that time. This feat was surpassed in 2008 with the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which went on to become the highest-grossing tour ever by a solo artist, and the second highest-grossing tour of all time, with approximately US $408 million in ticket sales. In 2012, The MDNA Tour became the second highest-grossing tour among female artists, only behind the Sticky & Sweet Tour, grossing over US $305 million.

Madonna has also embarked on four promotional tours for the release of her studio albums Music (2000), American Life (2003), Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) and Hard Candy (2008). She has also made appearances at the charity concerts Live Aid (1985), Live 8 (2005) and Live Earth (2007), as well as performing at the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in 2012, which was the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in history. Madonna is the top touring female artist of all time according to Billboard Boxscore. She is the highest grossing solo touring artist, with over $1.31 billion in concert gross, starting from the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990; she first crossed a billion gross with The MDNA Tour. Overall, Madonna ranks third on all-time top-grossing Billboard Boxscore list, with just The Rolling Stones ($1.84 billion) and U2 ($1.67 billion) ahead of her. During the London stop of her 2006 Confessions Tour, Madonna became the first performer to be inducted into the Wembley Arena Square of Fame.