On August 5 1990, Madonna – Live! Blond Ambition World Tour 90 was broadcast live on HBO-TV from Stade de l’Ouest, Nice, France and seen in more than 4.3 million households – it was the most-watched entertainment special in the network’s 18-year history (at the time).
On August 1 1990, Madonna In Concert was taped by SACIS-RAI at Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain on the second to last date of Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour.
The special was broadcast in Spain, Italy, the UK and Australia. It also aired on Canada’s MuchMusic on September 10, 1990. After being heavily promoted by the channel in the weeks leading up to the broadcast, the special aired in an edited version during its prime time slot, followed by an uncensored airing at midnight.
In addition to its intended use for broadcast, the recording also served as an unused safety net for her HBO special from the final date in Nice, France a few days later.
On July 2 1990, Roman Catholic groups condemned Madonna’s Blond Ambition concert as blasphemous due to her controversial show’s sex and religious themes and planned to cancel her concerts in Rome and Turin.
Madonna made this speech in response to the threats:
On June 1 1990, Madonna performed her “Blond Ambition Tour” at The Palace Of Auburn Hills, in Auburn Hills, Michigan. During the show, Madonna invited her father (Silvio Anthony Ciccone) onstage to sing him “Happy Birthday”.
On May 29 1990, Toronto police threatened to arrest Madonna on the grounds of lewd and obscene behavior for the Like A Virgin masturbation sequence in her Blond Ambition concert. The show went on unaltered, and no charges were made after the tour manager gave the police an ultimatum: “Cancel the show, and you’ll have to tell 30,000 people why.”
Madonna performed 3 sold-out concerts at the SkyDome, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
On May 25 1990, Madonna had to cancel a third scheduled Blond Ambition concert at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago, Illinois, due to laryngitis.
On May 17 1991, Madonna: Truth Or Dare was released in 538 US movie theatres.
Madonna: Truth or Dare (renamed “In Bed with Madonna” outside of North America) chronicled the life of Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. The film was well received by critics and was successful at the box office, at that point becoming the highest-grossing documentary of all time with a worldwide gross of $29,012,935.
Today In Madonna History 