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Busy schedule ... Madonna
MADONNA has confirmed that she is snubbing her Australian fans once again.
A personal message on the star's website says her Confessions world tour will bypass Australia, ending weeks of intense lobbying by promoter Michael Gudinski to lure the singer here.
Madonna blamed her children's school plans for her decision not to extend her five-month world tour by one week for two outdoor shows.
It is Madonna's third consecutive tour to skip Australia, although this territory gave her her first No. 1 single and her highest per-capita sales.
"To my fans in Australia, please forgive me," Madonna wrote.
"I really did hope and expect to come to Australia . . . and asked my managers to try to include some shows there. I have fond memories from previous tours. Unfortunately, the logistics just didn't work out this time around.
"We looked into going from Japan to Australia and ending the show there, but I have to get my kids back into school in England and they are, as you can understand, my most important priority."
Madonna has visited Australia only once - in 1993.
The Confessions tour has spent three months in America, where Madonna's album sales have dropped, and included eight shows in London.
