Ecstatic Beyoncé fans sang and danced in feverish excitement in Stockholm Wednesday as the superstar kicked off her first solo tour in seven years with a futuristic spectacle featuring a lunar rover, an airborne horse, and wall-to-wall rhinestones.

Hours before the doors opened hundreds of people were thronging outside the stadium, including some who had traveled halfway around the world to catch the show, anxious to see the global music icon — one of the world's best-selling artists.

Once the concert was about to begin, the tens of thousands of fans in the 60,000-capacity Friends Arena — filled to the brim — erupted in cheers as their "queen" emerged on stage.

"Just want to say: Y'all make me so happy," Beyoncé said as the concert began.

"I see familiar faces, people that flew from very, very far to come see the first show tonight," she told the audience at the outset of the three-hour space and science fiction-themed show.

The show features Beyoncé performing atop a lunar vehicle, playing the role of a news anchor while dressed as a queen bee, and suspended above the crowd as she sits on a model horse completely covered in sparkling rhinestones.

"This was another level. Amazing, I can't wait for the rest of the tour," Abdul Ibraimoh, a 33-year-old artist manager from London, told AFP after the show.

"There was a lot of anticipation for what she was going to do, and yes I'm speechless, it was just incredible," Shane Barkey, a 31-year-old radio host from Ireland, said.

Beyoncé, who has a record 32 Grammy awards; is in the top 10 biggest-grossing female artists. She is also a fashion icon, with designers queueing up for her attention.

Many of the fans in Stockholm sported cowboy hats and rhinestones, mimicking the look of the performer's outfit in the ads announcing the 57-stop European and North American tour.

Julie Vargas, who flew in from Houston, Texas — Beyoncé's hometown — confessed to having a "shrine" dedicated to the star at home.