LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

Britney Spears has announced that she will make her highly anticipated return to stage with “The Circus starring Britney Spears” 2009 tour, her first arena tour in five years, produced by AEG Live.

Following hot on the heels of the December 2nd, 2008 release of her long-awaited sixth studio album, Circus, Spears will begin rehearsing for her incredible tour production this January with famed director and Emmy-winning choreographer Wade Robson, before launching the 27-city North American trek on March 3, 2009 in New Orleans with special guests The Pussycat Dolls. Spears will also dazzle British fans at London’s O2 Arena on June 3 & 4 of 2009. Tickets go on sale beginning Saturday, December 6. Fans should visit BritneySpears.com for tour and ticketing information.

Spears gave fans a special taste of what’s to come on her Circus Tour during a live performance today from the Big Apple Circus tent in Lincoln Center on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America. On October 15, Spears’ new single, “Womanizer,” made a record-breaking jump to #1 on the BillboardHot 100, and garnered first-week download sales of 286,000.

This marked the biggest opening-week tally by a female artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital downloads in 2003. “Womanizer” is Spears’ ninth #1 single on the Hot 100 since her 1999 debut …Baby One More Time.

Spears’ live comeback began on November 6, 2008 with a cameo appearance at the Dodger Stadium show of Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour. Midway through “Human Nature,” Spears joined Madonna on stage. Previously, Spears re-entered the spotlight when she opened the MTV Video Music Awards on September 7th, her third appearance on the awards broadcast. Spears won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video Of The Year for “Piece of Me.” On November 6, 2008, Spears won both “Album of the Year” and “Act of 2008” at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008.

Britney Spearsis one of the top-selling artists of the last decade, and to date she has sold in excess of 62 million albums worldwide. Her releases include:.Baby One More Time (1999); Oops!… I Did It Again (2000); Britney (2001); In the Zone (2003) and Blackout (2007).

For tickets, VIP packages and detailed tour information, fans should visit www.britneyspears.com.

“The Circus starring Britney Spears” 2009 North American tour itinerary:

Tue, 03/03/09
New Orleans Arena
New Orleans, LA

Thu, 03/05/09
Philips Arena
Atlanta, GA

Sat, 03/07/09
American Airlines Arena
Miami, FL

Sun, 03/08/09
St Pete Times Forum
Tampa, FL

Wed, 03/11/09
Nassau Coliseum
Uniondale, NY

Fri, 03/13/09
Prudential Center
Newark, NJ

Mon, 03/16/09
TD Banknorth Garden
Boston, MA

Tue, 03/24/09
Verizon Center
Washington, DC

Thu, 03/26/09
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, CT

Fri, 03/27/09
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, PA

Tue, 03/31/09
American Airlines Center
Dallas, TX

Fri, 04/03/09
Target Center
Minneapolis, MN

Thu, 04/09/09
Tacoma Dome
Tacoma, WA

Sat, 04/11/09
ARCO Arena
Sacramento, CA

Sun, 04/12/09
HP Pavilion At San Jose
San Jose, CA

Tue, 04/14/09
EnergySolutions Arena
Salt Lake City, UT

Thu, 04/16/09
STAPLES Center
Los Angeles, CA

Sun, 04/19/09
Honda Center
Anaheim, CA

Fri, 04/24/09
JOBING.COM ARENA
Glendale, AZ

Tue, 04/28/09
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, IL

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