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Injury and infighting proved no match for girl power as the Spice Girls made their comeback in front of 18,000 arena last night.

The famous five, who last performed together in Britain in 1998 as a group of slightly gauche young women, rallied round Emma Bunton, who had a sprained ankle. But the undisputed star of the show was Victoria Beckham, who drew screams from the crowd.

The Spice Girls opened their show by emerging on five separate podiums, resplendent in gleaming Roberto Cavalli designer dresses and launched straight into Spice Up Your Life.

The show reached its peak when Beckham strode down the catwalk in a mock fashion shoot complete with Spice Boys posing as paparazzi.

Geri Halliwell wore a Union Jack dress during an energetic rendition of Who Do You Think You Are?. She then had the audience on their feet with a super-camp rendition of It’s Raining Men, during which she sported a 1980s-style red leotard.

But, while their performance on stage may have been reminiscent of their heyday, behind the scenes the thirtysomething girls are showing signs of age. All five submitted a rider asking for a regular supply of light salads, steamed fish and fresh fruit. And it was only with a combination of painkillers, hastily rearranged dance routines and determination that Bunton soldiered on through the show.

The performance included 22 songs, six costume changes and even a pole dance, but there was little in the way of new material. One critic has already dismissed the group as a tribute act, offering a poor imitation of their first incarnation.

Fans, some of whom had paid £1,000 for tickets from touts, heard old hits such as Spice up Your Life and Wannabe. A star-studded audience included Cavalli and the chart-topping singer Rihanna. Amber Kenner, an 18-year-old student studying economics at Cambridge, was in the audience with her twin sister Chloe. They last saw the Spice Girls perform a decade ago. Amber said: “The Spice Girls are our childhood. My friends are all really jealous.”

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