Elton John's farewell tour is now the highest earning run of all time.
According to Billboard, the trek, which commenced in September 2018 and will come to an end on July 8, 2023, has so far grossed a staggering $817.9 million (£664.4million) - the largest amount ever recorded by industry bean counters Boxscore. John is also the first musician to earn over $800million (649.1million) from a tour.
The success of the tour has surpassed that of previous record holder Ed Sheeran‘s The Divide Tour in 2019, which pulled in $776.4million (£630.5million), previously beating U2's record of their $735.4 million pound trek in 2011.
From 2018 until 2020, as well as the few months of 2022, John played arenas in North America, Europe, and Oceania. He then continued on to play stadiums across each continent for the tour’s final year. So far, the music icon has played a total of 278 shows.
John's last ever UK concert will take place at this year's Glastonbury Festival, which he confirmed back in December.
"I couldn’t be more excited to be headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023 and celebrate the greatest festival in the world!!" he wrote via Instagram. "Every week I speak to new artists on my radio show and Glastonbury is often cited as a pivotal moment in launching their careers - the festival’s genuine, enthusiastic support for the best emerging talent is something I’ve long admired. Thank you for having me Emily Eavis for my final UK show - it’s going to be emotional."
Announcing his retirement in 2018, he said at the time: “I’m not going to be touring anymore. I’m not going to be touring and traveling the world. My priorities have changed. I have young children.”
"That doesn’t mean I won’t still be creative. But I won’t travel any more…I don’t want to go out with a whimper. I want to go out with a bang…It’ll be the most produced, fantastic show I’ve ever done.”
