What the Spice Girls really, really want is to set the record straight: Despite rumors to the contrary, no concert tour dates have been scrapped. The pop stars are calling foul on reports that they scuttled a January gig in Buenos Aires and instead planned to add more dates in the U.S. and U.K. due to heavier demand. The report circulated after a fake email, purportedly disseminated from Spice Girls HQ, made the rounds, claiming the group had pulled out of the South America gig.
“The Spice Girls would like to let fans know they have not canceled their concert in Buenos Aires,” said a posting on the Girls’ official Website.
“The email and the story are 100 percent unofficial and have nothing to do with the Spice Girls.”
The story, dubbed completely fake by the singers’ rep, also claimed that in lieu of the Argentina gig, the Spice Girls would be holding competitions to allow their below-the-equator fans to win trips to concerts in other city stops along their world tour.
While it’s unclear how the email began circulating, the Spice Girls’ own site may have provided some fodder. Although Buenos Aires is listed as a stop on the group’s global itinerary, a message underneath the city’s entry reads: “We have had an amazing demand for tickets across the world, and we are currently having to reschedule our tour.”
The Spice Girls, however, claim the note was not intended to serve as a cancellation notice but merely a postponement.
“The Buenos Aires concert has been postponed due to the additional dates that have been added in Europe & the U.S.,” the band’s rep clarified.
No new date has yet been declared, though it is expected the Girls will hit the city sometime in February, rather than in January as originally intended. Dates for shows in Beijing, Shanghai, Cape Town, Hong Kong and Sydney also have yet to be finalized.
Meanwhile, Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Chisholm and Emma Bunton–aka Posh, Scary, Ginger, Sporty and Baby Spice–will hit the road for their highly anticipated reunion tour in just six days, making their concert debut Dec. 2 in Vancouver. The tour includes a 17-night residency at London’s O2 Arena.
The Girls are currently rehearsing in Los Angeles and have already had their share of high-profile guests cheering on their run-throughs. Per the Spice Girls’ Website, Beckham buds Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise stopped by the girl-powered rehearsal space last week to wish the group luck.
“David and I are great friends with Tom and Katie,” said Victoria Beckham. “It was lovely of them to come down to rehearsals, a really nice surprise. Katie has told me before that she used to be a big Spice fan, so it was great for her to meet the other girls.”