Kylie Minogue Kicks Off $20 Million European Tour 5/6/08

Australian pop star Kylie Minogue has kicked off her long awaited KylieX2008 tour in Paris, France. The Spinning Around hitmaker, who put her career on hold in 2005 to battle breast cancer, returned to the stage on Tuesday (06May08) to embark on what is reported to be "the biggest tour of her career".

The 39-year-old, who received the Chevalier dans L'ordre des Arts et Lettres from the French government in Paris on 5 May (08), opened her show in the French capital with songs from her 2007 album X, and performed her own version of the Barry Manilow classic Copacabana.

The show has cost over $20 million (£10 million) to stage and includes 53 dates across Europe which will conclude with a six night residency at London's O2 Arena, ending on 2 August (08).