Madonna goes into intensive care and is forced to postpone tour

Madonna has postponed her tour after being struck down with an illness that left her in intensive care.

The US pop icon's manager, Guy Oseary, said in a statement: "On Saturday June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which lead to a several day stay in the ICU.

"Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care. A full recovery is expected.

"At this time we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour.

"We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows."

The 64-year-old hitmaker was due to kick off the North America leg of her The Celebration world tour, to mark the 40th anniversary of her musical career, in Vancouver, Canada, on 15 July.

Performances also include two shows at Madison Square Garden in New York in August, along with Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas and Chicago.