Spice Girls album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies. That same month the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up million pound sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury's and Polaroid. In December 1996, the group won three trophies at the "Smash Hits" awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, the group released "Wannabe" in the
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour in $33.8 million and drawing 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls held a press conference at The O in London, formally announcing their intention to reunite as a group, a plan that had long been speculated by the media. During the press conference, the group laid out their plans to embark on a world concert tour that would be seen as a celebration of the group's history and to tour as a quintet for the last time. Initially eleven dates were announced and spanned North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania,