George Michael opened his much-anticipated tour yesterday with a sell-out concert at the Prague State Opera House.

Accompanied by a symphony orchestra, the star was to perform songs spanning his almost 30-year career as well as covers from his favourite artistes.

The first nine weeks of the tour will see Mr Michael take in Spain, Germany, Italy and France before hitting British soil on October 25 for a performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

There are 65 shows on the European leg of Symphonica – The Orchestral Tour, with 19 dates scheduled for Britain.

The singer, who surprised fans when he announced the tour after vowing to quit live performance, has told Twitter followers that rehearsals have been “going great”.

And he added: “The band is fantastic, so spending downtime making sure the show looks beautiful as well.”

Earlier this year, the former Wham! star spoke of his troubled past, saying he deserved to be jailed last year for crashing his Range Rover while under the influence of cannabis.

The 48-year-old singer was given an eight-week sentence and fined after driving into the front of a photo shop in London.

In an interview with radio DJ Chris Evans he said going to jail had been karma for repeatedly breaking the law.

The singer is expected to spend at least 195 hours on stage for the performances in front of 390,000 fans.

The 41-piece orchestra is supported by a six-piece band and three backing singers.