Spice Girls wow critics as tour kicks off - Dec 4 2007
Their comeback single may not have been the chart success they hoped for - but the launch of the Spice Girls' world tour has wowed critics.

The five Spices opened their reunion show with hits Spice Up Your Life, Stop, and Say You'll Be There.

The group, whose co-ordinating outfits were created by designer Roberto Cavalli, were backed by an eight-piece band and male dancers.

The reviewers agreed that the Vancouver gig showed Girl Power was "intact".

The Evening Standard wrote: "There seems no diminution in the energy they are prepared to expend, or the lengths they will go to please the audience."

Critic Pete Clark wrote: "Watching these five tiny figures belting it out over two hours, and giving every impression of having a high old time in the process, one has to conclude that this is ebullient pop music of a very high standard, presented with panache and highly unlikely to provoke any attendance at the refund window."

The Vancouver Sun wrote: "It appears the Spice Girls haven't lost their kitschy cool pop idol appeal... Just as it was ten years ago, the show wasn't about great singing or dancing.

"But it was about great entertainment. And the girls delivered the spice."

The Vancouver Metro wrote: "The Spice Girls launched their world tour with a nostalgia-coated shot of pure energy."

The Canada Globe and Mail wrote: "The Spice Girls returned to the stage with the first concert of their reunion tour in Vancouver ... wowing fans with a tightly-staged and choreographed show."

The return of the Spice Girls - Dec 3 2007
The Spice Girls kicked off their reunion world tour with a show-stopping performance in Vancouver.

More than 15,000 fans flocked to General Motors Place for the Return Of The Spice Girls Tour.

The Canadian gig saw Victoria, Emma, Mel B, Mel C and Geri take to the stage together for the first time in nine years.

Their last tour date as a five-piece was in Birmingham shortly before Geri Halliwell left the group in May 1998.

The two-hour long reunion show saw the girls performing 22 tracks, including their nine UK number one singles, new single Headlines and some solo material.

There were eight different costume changes during the show, which goes to San Jose in California next week.

In the coming months, the five will perform in cities across the world, from London to Cape Town, as well as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Shanghai, Madrid and Beijing.

The group were joined on-stage by a team of male dancers who dazzled the audience with breakdancing, ballroom moves and acrobatics.

The Spice Girls’ co-ordinating outfits were created by designer Roberto Cavalli specially for the tour.

The girls opened with Spice Up Your Life and danced on raised platforms before walking just inches from the ecstatic fans down the stage catwalk.

In one segment, the girls wore outfits reflecting the Spice nicknames which made them famous more than a decade ago.

Geri sported a rhinestone version of the Union Jack dress she famously wore to The Brits, while Mel B was clad head-to-toe in animal print with matching knee high boots.

Hoax e-mail about Spice Girls gig - Nov 26 2007
The Spice Girls were the victims of a bogus e-mail which claimed they had cancelled a tour date in South America due to the level of demand in Britain and the US.

A fake e-mail was sent round and published on several websites claiming the group were having to pull out of their gig in Buenos Aires in Argentina in January.