MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Authorities in Moscow have refused to allow the Madonna concert to be held on a hill overlooking the capital in front of Moscow State University, an official said Friday.

The pop diva is expected in Moscow September 11 as part of her controversial 'Confessions on a Dance Floor' tour. Moscow authorities said Tuesday the venue for the concert could be changed for security reasons.

"No permission has been given for Madonna's show on Vorobyovy Gory hill," Alexei Laushkin of the western Moscow administration said, adding the concert might be held in the north of the city.

Nikolai Kulikov, in charge of security issues in the Moscow government, said Tuesday that security concerns, including a blast at a market place Monday, prompted city authorities to consider an alternate site for the American pop icon's upcoming concert.

He said the large number of expected fans - up to 250,000 - could mean the concert would have to be moved from Vorobyovy Gory to the more spacious Tushino airfield in northwest Moscow.

However, Kulikov assured ticket holders that the concert would not be canceled under any circumstances, even in light of the bomb attack at a Moscow market that claimed 11 lives.

"Life must go on despite these blasts," he said, adding that security would be tighter.