The Queen of pop is to launch her world tour in Tel Aviv.

Madonna, whose devotion to Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) is well known, will perform in Israel on April 29. It will be her first global tour in three years.

She has played in the country twice before, including to a crowd of 50,000 people in Hayarkon Park in September 2009.

She has also visited Israel on several occasions and adopted the Hebrew name "Esther" as part of her study of Kabbalah.

During her concert three years ago, she told fans: "I truly believe that Israel is the energy centre of the world."

The concert is scheduled to take place two days after Shavuot, raising the question of whether the singer will choose to spend the festival in Israel.

After Israel, the next stop on the tour is Abu Dhabi.