Minogue discovered that she had breast cancer in May 2005 but made a rapid recovery after surgery and then chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She was given the “all clear” a year ago after a partial masectomy.

The singer described the London concert, which had a dancefloor designed to accommodate 3,500 people, as the “biggest party of all”.

The British leg of the tour comprises seven concerts at Wembley and six nights in Manchester, and follows concerts last month in Sydney.

The tour itself is a resumption of her Showgirl Tour, cancelled when the tumour in her breast was discovered. The set has been changed significantly because she is not yet fully fit: she said that she found a large number of costume changes demanding.

“I’m as prepared as I can be but I’m not sure that I’ll be able to do everything that I did before. Not that I do an enormous amount of jumping all over the stage, but quick changes are really stressful.”

Minogue was scheduled to complete her British comeback at Glastonbury this summer, but pulled out in December saying that she was too busy. Parlophone, her record company, said that she was working on material expected to be released this year.

The singer’s illness caused a sudden surge in breast cancer awareness. Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, South Wales, reported a 61 per cent increase in the month following Minogue’s diagnosis.

Minogue has already been back onstage once in Britain: she made an impromptu appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. She jumped up on stage at the end of a Cuban dance show entitled Havana Rumba! after she was invited to dance by her friend Toby Gough, the show’s producer.

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