After a career that spans over 50 years, the legendary singer Elton John gave his final performance in the UK. The momentous event happened at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival, with a set covering his greatest hits, including “Saturday,” “Candle in the Wind,” and “Bennie and the Jets.” Fans recorded videos of the crowd surrounding the Pyramid stage and noted that it might be the “biggest ever,” surpassing the 100,000 people that came out to see Paul McCartney in 2022. A video of John's performance of “Rocket Man” shows how incredible the energy was that evening.
At 76 years old, the British pop legend seemed as focused as ever while singing and simultaneously playing the piano. His performance of “Rocket Man” lasted over 10 minutes, featuring numerous visual effects that brought delight to the thousands of fans cheering below. As John belted the lyrics, fireworks went off over the Glastonbury crowd, not once, but several times over the duration of the song.
Overhead photos of the event capture just how packed it was, with crowds stretching out into the distance. “The energy last night was like nothing else, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the crowd and the people watching at home for all your love and support. You will be in my heart and soul forever,” John wrote on his Instagram. The performance is already one of the most-watched shows of the year with more than 7 million people tuning in to watch it on the BBC. And while the number of attendees has not been tallied yet, it's suspected that it was the largest crowd in Glastonbury history.
Although this is John's final concert in the UK, he will be sharing his talents again soon at a concert in Sweden on July 8, 2023.
Elton John gave his final UK performance at the Glastonbury music festival.
He attracted the “biggest ever” crowd to his emotional farewell.
The crowd for Elton John at Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/DSiniwV7rT
— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) June 25, 2023
Those aerial shots of the crowd are simply incredible.
Absolutely staggering #Glastonbury #glastonbury2023 #Glastonbury23 #glasto #pyramidstage #eltonjohn pic.twitter.com/KORXA0gXK2
— Andrew Jazzie (@AndrewJazzie) June 25, 2023
Although the numbers have not been tallied yet, it is believed that over 100,000 people were in attendance.
I would bet my life that Elton John is gonna be the biggest ever crowd at glastonbury. It is insane on the pyramid stage already pic.twitter.com/Dg6lNnY1AG
— rebecca rose (@beckyjanerose) June 25, 2023
Watch the full performance of “Rocket Man” here:
h/t: [LADbible]
All images via BBC Music/YouTube.
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