Crunch forces Madonna to scrap Oz show

Madonna has reportedly ditched plans to perform in Australia due to the country's current economic gloom.

The weak dollar has also seen Neil Diamond, The Eagles, Green Day, Metallica and Paul McCartney putting their Oz tour plans on hold, according to the Sydney Sunday Telegraph.

Madonna was scheduled to perform in Sydney and Melbourne in January. However, an insider said the financial crisis had interfered at the eleventh hour.

"It got as close as anything ever gets,'' the source said. "Madonna was coming to Australia, the dates were resolved, then economics got in the way.''

Promoter Michael Chugg said the industry has become wary due to increased financial risk.

"It's unknown territory at the moment. A lot of tours went on sale before the dollar crashed. We are only starting to see the effect of the economy on the tour industry," he said.