Glastonbury 2023: Sir Elton John to headline Pyramid Stage in final UK show of last ever tour

Sir Elton John has been announced as the first act to headline Glastonbury Festival next year.

It will mark Sir Elton’s first ever appearance at Glastonbury and will be his final UK show of his last ever tour. Festival organisers confirmed that the popular hit maker will be headlining the Pyramid Stage on the Sunday night of the five-day event next year.

The huge music festival is set to return to Worthy Farm in Somerset from 21 to 25 June 21 2023, it was previously confirmed.

The festival tweeted on Friday morning: “We are incredibly excited to announce that the one and only @EltonOfficial will headline the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night at Glastonbury 2023, for what will be the final UK show of his last ever tour.”

Sir Elton John said he “couldn’t be more excited” to be headlining at Glastonbury 2023. After the announcement on Friday morning, he said: “I couldn’t be more excited to be headlining the Pyramid Stage.

“As the end of my Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour comes into view, there is no more fitting way to say goodbye to my British fans. They have been beyond brilliant, and have supported me through all the highs and lows of my career.

“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.

“I’ve been talking to Emily Eavis about it over the last few weeks and I can’t wait to embrace the spirit of the greatest festival in the world. It’s going to be incredibly emotional.”

Sir Elton’s 300-plus date worldwide tour is due to conclude next summer and will mark his retirement from touring after 52 years on the road. So far it has seen him perform across Europe with shows in Milan, Paris and Frankfurt.

Last month, Sir Elton, 75, ended the North American leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour with a show at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, which was livestreamed on Disney+ and saw him duet with names including Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile. The final leg of his tour will include dates in Australia, New Zealand and European shows next year.

Throughout the tour, he has treated fans to elaborate shows filled with extravagant costumes, spectacular visuals and classics from his catalogue including Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, Your Song and hit recent number one single Cold Heart, which was a collaboration with pop star Dua Lipa.

It comes after he announced his farewell tour in 2018 after deciding to bow out of live performing to spend more time with his two children. The ambitious project kicked off four years ago but it was forced to a halt due to the Covid pandemic, and later suffered further delays after Sir Elton suffered an injury in a fall.

The tour celebrates the glittering career of the singer that has seen him release a hit single in every decade since the 1970s, and notch up worldwide record sales of 300 million.

‘The mother of all send offs’

Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said the festival would be marking the momentous occasion of the performance being Sir Elton John’s final UK show of his last ever tour with “the mother of all send offs”.

She wrote: “It gives me enormous pleasure to let you know that the one and only Elton John will be making his first ever Glastonbury appearance, headlining the Pyramid Stage on the Sunday night next year.

“This will be the final UK show of Elton’s last ever tour, so we will be closing the Festival and marking this huge moment in both of our histories with the mother of all send offs. We are so very happy to finally bring the Rocket Man to Worthy Farm!”.

This year’s Glastonbury Festival saw Billie Eilish, Sir Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar headline the event, with Diana Ross performing in the traditional Sunday Legends slot.

Sir Paul’s Saturday headline slot on the Pyramid Stage saw the former Beatle become the festival’s oldest solo headliner, performing a week after he celebrated his 80th birthday. Meanwhile on the Friday night, US singer Eilish became Glastonbury’s youngest ever solo headliner as she performed on the Pyramid Stage.

Tickets for Glastonbury 2023 went on general sale on 6 November and are limited to a maximum of six tickets in one transaction.