Britney Spears, O2 Arena, London
Originally uploaded by twinkleboi

Not letting London's unfortunately timed tube strike, and subsequent transport chaos, be a deterrent, excited Britney fans filtered into the forecourt of the O2 Arena: a space that had been transformed into a fair ground carnival; complete with carousel, giant slides, a ferris wheel and stilt walking feathered-up showgirls.

In order to accurately set the scene, one can not go past the fashion adorning the Britney fans as they mulled about the O2. An aesthetic perhaps best described as what would result if the high street chain stores threw up at a carnival: girls in tiny minis and giant heels, latex-esque black tights and loose fit vests, ugg boots over skinny jeans teamed with an open flanno, a ton of leopard print and a sprinkling of fabulously androgynous looking ladies.. or gents? The pre-show entertainment was as much about observing the style of those clambering about the carnival rides as it was about enjoying those rides.

Britney Spears - Circus Tour
Originally uploaded by samlavi

Inside of the arena the capacity crowd took their seats. The show was in-the-round, with a large round stage, draped in deep purple and red curtains, in the centre of the arena and two smaller adjoining round stages to the left and right.

Support act, Ciara, performed a disappointingly underwhelming set, largely compromised of writhing and gyrating her fishnet and leotard clad body about the stage. She used the time between her songs for haughty self-promotion, ("...follow me on twitter! ... Did you know my album, Fantasy Ride, is out now?!") rather than attempting to properly engage with the crowd. For whatever reason and despite impressively strong vocals throughout the set, Ciara chose to lip-synch over a backing track for crowd favourite: Love, Sex & Magic - sporadically singing bursts of lyrics throughout the track. Undoubtedly a talented vocalist and strong dancer, Ciara failed to genuinely connect with an audience that she could quite easily have had eating out of the palm of her hand.

Britney Spears - Circus Tour
Originally uploaded by samlavi

Following (and making up for) Ciara was The Big Apple Circus who brought with them a high energy circus ambiance for what was a tantalising set of juggling, hooping, punked-up skating clowns, ribbon twirling and acrobatics. Impressive and exciting, the Big Apple Circus proved the perfect way to energise the crowd for the imminent arrival of reigning Queen of Pop, Britney... and who better to introduce Ms Spears to her eager and excited audience than the Queen of All Media himself, Perez Hilton? Appearing as a cherub and acting as ringmaster in this circus, a video introduction was projected onto the stage.

Britney Spears - Circus Tour
Originally uploaded by samlavi

Bursting onto the stage with her albums title track 'Circus', Britney reaffirmed her status as the premiere darling of pop and cemented her status as a show-girl comparable to no other. Her show every bit the spectacle fans hoped an expected it to be, performing a selection of songs from both her most recent album as well as a smattering of hits from her back catalogue. A highlight of the show saw Britney slow the pace as she was suspended above her stage to perform moving rendition of Everytime. Hits including Boys, Gimme More, I'm a Slave 4 U and Toxic followed; as did costumes changes from pretty bollywood inspired harem pants to sequinned bloomers to leotards.

She closed her set dressed as a police woman, compete with cuffs and a baton, for an encore performance of Womanizer. Thanking her crowd, Britney's voice was young, girly and playful, reminiscent of the girl that first wowed international audiences with Hit Me Baby One More time all those years ago. She may have fallen from grace - but it was undeniable - she's bold, brilliant and absolutely back.

Have you seen Britney's Circus Tour? What did you think? What's your favourite Britney song of all time??