Barbra Streisand charges up to £500 per ticket for comeback show

The cheapest seats for the diva's show at London's O2 Arena - the former Millennium Dome - will cost £100, with top ticket prices more than three times what it would cost for the best seats at a Rolling Stones or Madonna concert.

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London here I come: Barbra Streisand's concert is expected to sell out immediately

Critics claimed Miss Streisand, 65, was exploiting her fans' goodwill.

But her camp defended the sky-high prices by calling a live performance by the singer a "momentous occasion" comparable to seeing Elvis or Sinatra.

The last time Miss Streisand played in the UK, in 1994, ticket touts were forced to sell tickets below face value after the expected demand failed to materialise.

Her concert at the venue in London's Docklands on July 18, featuring a 58-piece orchestra, will be one of five European dates for the singer-actress.

She will also perform at Castletown House in Dublin on July 14, in addition to shows in Vienna, Paris and Nice.

Miss Streisand, whose hits include The Way We Were and Evergreen, said of the tour: "What a joy it will be to perform in so many wonderful countries for the first time.

"I can't wait to experience these different audiences and different cultures."

Miss Streisand is the best- selling female artist of all time, with 50 gold, 30 platinum and 13 multi-platinum albums.

Last year, she broke box-office records for 14 of the 16 venues on her U.S. tour, her first in her home country for six years.

That tour brought in £46million with the average price of a ticket £145, although some cost nearly £400.

Her ticket prices this time dwarf those charged by two of the few acts who can rival her star power.

Madonna was criticised last year when tickets for her Confessions tour were priced between £80 and £160 while the top tickets to see the Stones at Twickenham this summer are £150.

Part of the proceeds from the tour will be donated to good causes through the Barbra Streisand Foundation.

A spokesman for the star said: "Seeing Barbra Streisand in concert is a pretty momentous occasion that ranks up there with seeing Sinatra or Elvis.

"If you think that FA Cup Final tickets are going for £1,600, you get some sort of context."

Miss Streisand has recorded more than 60 albums and won two Oscars, four Emmys, ten Golden Globes and eight Grammys. The Funny Girl star has become notorious for her exacting demands when on tour.

Embarrassingly, a "rider" containing all her backstage requirements from

her most recent U.S. tour was posted on the Internet.

It included astonishingly detailed information, even down to the upholstery on the sofas.

For her Millennium Eve concert in Las Vegas seven years ago, she insisted staff remodel her entire suite.