Madonna steals the show at MTV awards

MADONNA STEALS THE SHOW AT MTV AWARDS
Thu Nov 03 2005 21:19:50 ET

Madonna proved she was still the reigning Queen of Pop tonight with a storming performance at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

The 47-year-old opened the ceremony in Lisbon and showed the younger stars how it was done.

Coldplay and Green Day were double winners and there were prizes for Robbie Williams, Gorillaz and James Blunt.

But the night belonged to Madonna, despite the fact she was not nominated for any award.

She performed new single, Hung Up, by bursting from a giant glitterball wearing a purple leotard which revealed her astonishing figure.

The 80s-style leotard was a vintage find which she topped off with £20,000 worth of diamonds on her eyelashes.

Afterwards an awe-struck Robbie Williams - who won Best Male - said: "She looked amazing, I watched with my mouth open all the way through her performance.

"She´s an absolute legend and she makes us all look like amateurs."

And he joked: "I can´t believe she´s 89 and looks like that."

Madonna´s muscle-bound figure prompted show host Borat, aka comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, to say: "It was very brave of MTV to start the show with a transvestite."

The award ceremony took place at Lisbon´s Atlantic Pavilion.

Madonna returned to the stage to present the Free Your Mind humanitarian award to her "hero" Bob Geldof for his Live 8 effort.

She said: "My hero is someone who has never been afraid to speak his mind, to ruffle feathers, to get the job done, to get down in the trenches and kick some ass.

"I know first hand it´s not always considered fashionable to work hard to make the world a better place because I´ve taken some s*** for that myself."

END