Glastonbury 2023 – latest: Elton John says thank-you to festival audience after farewell UK performance
Rocket Man bids farewell as he played what could be his final live show in the UK, with a jaw-dropping, career-spanning set of his greatest songs
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Elton John performed what will go down as one of the greatest headline shows in Glastonbury history last night (Sunday 25 June), to one of the biggest crowds the festival has seen in years.
Lil Nas X was the final artist to take to the main stage before the 76-year-old at Worthy Farm, Somerset, after a joyful Yusuf/Cat Stevens entertained fans with songs including “Wild World” and “Father and Son”.
The revered folk singer-songwriter performed with his band in the coveted Legends Slot, a gig previously handed to artists including Lionel Richie, Kylie Minogue and Dolly Parton. He also gave superfan/comedian Ricky Gervais a shout-out on his birthday, before playing his song “Tea for the Tillerman”.
At 9pm, John launched his performance with some of his best-known songs, including his 1975 cover of “Pinball Wizard” and “Benny and the Jets”. From the moment he sat down at the piano, the show was a pure blast of euphoria from one of the world’s greatest living entertainers, with surprise guests including The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers, and Gabriels singer Jacob Lusk.
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Rick Astley brands Glastonbury crowd the ‘loveliest’ ever
ICYMI: Rick Astley has called Glastonbury revellers the “loveliest crowd” he has ever played in front of, but joked even his debut performance at the festival could not make him “cool”.
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People were ready for a spectacle and the Rocket Man delivered.
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People were ready for a spectacle and the Rocket Man delivered
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Glastonbury viewers stunned at ‘insane’ crowd size for Elton John’s Pyramid Stage concert
Viewers at home have been left in awe of the size of the crowd who gathered to watch Elton John’s headline performance at Glastonbury.
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Glastonbury viewers stunned at ‘insane’ crowd size for Elton John concert
Paul McCartney attracted over 100,000 for his headline set last year, while the Rolling Stones drew a similar-sized crowd
ICYMI
A man in his 40s died at Glastonbury after a “medical incident” on the festival site in the early hours of Sunday morning (25 June).
Read more:
Man dies at Glastonbury Festival after ‘medical incident’
Police say man in 40s died at the old railway line
Surprise guests and all the hits: Elton John closes out Glastonbury 2023 with a spectacular farewell show
Elton John closes out Glastonbury 2023 with a spectacular farewell show
With guest stars including Rina Sawayama and Stephen Sanchez, Elton John played one of Glastonbury’s greatest headline shows... and concluded one of its most mixed-bag weekends
Elton John pays tribute to late George Michael on his birthday during Glastonbur
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