This is "a very special and touching evening" - said Elton John and said goodbye to the British public on Sunday evening on the stage of the legendary Festival in Glastonbury, in the southwest of England.
Dressed in a gold suit and red-rimmed glasses, the 76-year-old star arrived on stage somewhat stiffly, cheering the crowd on before launching into Elton John's "Pinball Wizard" in the rock adaptation of the 1975 film Tommy. operas by "The Who".
He then continued with "The Bitch is Back" and then said: "This is a very special and emotional night for me, this might be my last show in England, in the UK, so I want to do well".
Elton John, who will end his world farewell tour in Stockholm on July 8, closed the 51st Festival in front of tens of thousands of visitors on the famous "Pyramid" stage.
"I arrived at seven o'clock this morning for this special day in Glastonbury history," spectator Ben Monk told AFP. "Because we're going to miss this!" he added, dressed in a special tribute to Elton, who he said was a "great man".
"There's no one like him!" squealed Justine Clayton, who got married to the sound of "Your Song." "It's touching for us. And it's the same for many, it brings back many memories of all the generations he performed in front of," she said.
"We've already run out of Elton John's glasses," said Judy Berger, who sold huge models with rhinestones, with yellow or pink lenses, even unusually large ones "totally crazy, completely covered in fur."
Four surprise guests were announced, and rumors announced Harry Styles, Billy Joel, Ed Sheeran or Britney Spears, or even Dua Lipa.
"This is the first time I've been asked" to sing at Glastonbury, Elton John said in an interview with the BBC at the end of May. "The time is right, I believe in fate and that's the best way to end it in England," he said.
Sunday's concert is different from what audiences have seen during the tour of Elton John, who used extravagant costumes and spectacular visual effects to accompany his hits "Tiny Dancer", "Rocket Man" or "Your Song".
Elton John, touched by "healthy" stage fright before the performance, according to his husband David Furnish, has already announced that he will start with a song he hasn't performed in ten years. But even though Elton John is saying goodbye to the stage, he plans to work on a new album in the fall.
Titled "Farewell Yellow's Brick Road," the 300 million-record-selling singer's latest tour began in 2018 and was originally supposed to last three years, with more than 300 dates planned.
But it was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, hip surgery in 2021 and a positive covid test last year.
Before Elton John, Blondi, Yusuf/Kat Stevens, rapper Lil Nas X or Sophie Ellis-Bextor took turns on the "Pyramid" stage on Sunday.
Surprises on Sunday night are not the only ones at this year's Glastonbury.
On Friday, Foo Fighters, for the first time after 25 years at the festival, burst into a surprise concert, where the mysterious group "Churnups" was announced.
Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has also been invited to join Guns N'Roses on stage - for their first festival appearance - for a revisited "Paradise City", as well as the Pretenders.
Among other festival headliners, Lana Del Rey, Levis Capaldi, Arctic Monkeys, Amadou and Mariam, or even Rick Astley and his unmissable "Never Gonna Give You Up" that made him a star in 1987.
Glastonbury welcomes more than 200.000 visitors who arrive with tents and backpacks. At the beginning of November, tickets were sold out in just over an hour for this year's festival, despite the price of nearly 400 euros.
Bonus video:
