“Shameful” Streisand tour to open in Zurich

In the spotlight: high prices for Barbra Streisand's European tour are attracting criticism Keystone

Legendary chanteuse Barbra Streisand is set to open her first continental European tour with a date at Zurich's 13,000-seater Hallenstadion on Monday.

Streisand had originally planned to launch her tour at Rome’s Flaminio Stadium last Friday, but “production delays” resulted in the concert’s cancellation – although Italian consumer groups had previously described the high ticket prices as “absurd and shameful”.

The 65-year-old Streisand, whose inimitable style and hits such as “Woman in Love”, “Evergreen” and “The Way We Were” have brought her huge popular success, will follow her Swiss debut with stops in Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Manchester, Dublin and London.

At the end of May however organisers dropped the Italian capital from her itinerary, citing production delays.

A spokeswoman for the tour denied that the Rome cancellation had anything to do with an outcry from Italian consumer groups, who complained that tour promoters were charging exorbitant prices for tickets, ranging from €150-900 (SFr250-1,500).

At the end of May the Adusbef and Codacons groups urged the city of Rome and the Italian Olympic Committee (IOC) to deny Streisand use of the Stadio Flaminio on June 15, the singer’s first concert in Italy and the start of her European tour.

The ticket prices were “absurd and shameful”, the groups said in a statement, saying the 24,000-seat stadium, owned by the city and managed by the IOC, “is public property and cannot be used for immoral deals that are shameful to a civilised country”.

Tour promoter Michael Cohl apologised to Italian fans, adding that ticket holders would be refunded and given the opportunity to book a spot for one of Streisand’s other European concerts.

Special offers

Swiss fans have also raised eyebrows at the high prices, and with a few days to go before the concert the Hallenstadion was far from sold out.

Marc Walder, editor of the Sonntagsblick newspaper, an official media partner of the concert, said it is never easy to fill the Hallenstadion – “but prices are definitely high”.

In a bid to fill the stadium, special offers have started appearing in newspapers and from Friday employees of big companies such as retail chain Migros have had the chance to buy tickets for a mere SFr75 ($60).

First visit

Streisand arrived in Zurich on Wednesday accompanied by husband James Brolin and son Jason Gould. It is her first time in Zurich, and she is staying in the exclusive Baur au Lac hotel.

Streisand will be accompanied by a 58-piece orchestra on her first-ever European tour outside Britain. Her latest tour is scheduled to wrap up with three shows in London, on July 18, 22 and 25.

Streisand’s US tour in 2006 was the year’s second-highest grossing tour in North America, generating $92.5 million (SFr115 million) in gross sales, with the average ticket price at about $300. The Rolling Stones topped the list.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

Barbra Streisand was born in New York in 1942. She is an Academy Award-winning singer, theatre and film actress, film producer and director, and staunch Democrat.
Streisand has recorded more than 60 albums and sold more than 71 million records.
She has won Oscars for Best Actress (for Funny Girl in 1968) and Best Original Song (for A Star is Born in 1976).
Streisand has been married twice, to Elliott Gould (1963-1971) and James Brolin (1998-present). She has one child: Jason Gould.

Barbra Streisand European tour 2007

June 15 Rome (cancelled)
June 18 Zurich
June 21 Vienna
June 26 Paris
June 30 Berlin
July 4 Stockholm
July 10 Manchester
July 10 Nice (cancelled)
July 14 Dublin
July 18 London (sold out)
July 22 London (sold out)
July 25 London