A Polish ultra-religious movement said it planned prayer sessions to protest a concert by US superstar Madonna in Warsaw on August 15, which is when Roman Catholics honour the Virgin Mary.

"We're going to continue our crusade with daily prayer sessions outside Warsaw city hall from August 1," said Marian Brudzynski, head of the Committee for the Defence of the Faith and Tradition.

"We'll start with a group of a few hundred people, but I'm convinced that the square in front of city hall will end up filled with pious Poles," he said. Ms Brudzynski, an independent local councillor who previously represented the far-right and ardently Catholic League of Polish Families, has been pushing Warsaw city hall to ban Madonna's first-ever show in Poland.

Concert organisers said the 70,000-ticket event was already all but sold out. Madonna has often angered faithful Christians in the past, not only with her racy shows, but also with on-stage antics such as a mock crucifixion scene.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.