HOWZAT

The Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne was also in the audience, along with fans who had travelled from as far as Italy to catch the concert.

Marlaine Huery, 19, from Medicine Hat in Alberta, drove for three hours and flew across the Rockies to see the stars, paying around £750 for the experience.

She said: "I can't believe I am here but it was so worth it. I've never seen them live before so it's great for me that they did this tour. It has been a life long dream of mine.

"I was crying for the first half hour of the show, and I paid a fortune for my ticket but if they come on tour again I would spend it again. They were just fantastic."

The Spice Girls, who have not performed as a quintet since 1998, appeared to enjoy the show as much as the crowd, smiling excitedly throughout.

Brown seemed to relish showing off the moves that took her to the final of American TV show Dancing With The Stars last week, leaping about the stage with a grin plastered across her face.

They closed with the song Wannabe and a reprisal of Spice Up Your Life, but neither hit signalled the end. In the next five months, the Spice Girls will perform in cities around the world, including London, Manchester, Cape Town, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Shanghai, Madrid and Beijing.

The tour arrives in the UK later this month.

Set list:

Spice Up Your Life

Stop

Say You'll Be There

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