It's a monument of pop and rock and roll that says goodbye to the stage. Surrounded by fans from all over the world, singer Elton John delivered, Saturday, July 8, in Stockholm, his last concert, after more than half a century on the road.

"Playing for you has been my reason for living, and you have been absolutely magnificent," he told a packed audience.

Pie tail enhanced with rhinestones, glasses with red lenses, the 76-year-old star sat at the piano to the cheers of the audience, to begin his farewell show with one of his most popular songs "Bennie and the Jets".

Elton John kicked off his farewell show with one of his most popular songs "Bennie and the Jets". © Caisa Rasmussen / AP

He then followed up with "Philadelphia Freedom" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" in front of a conquered audience that sported blue or red sparkling glasses.

For more than two hours, the pieces were linked, interspersed with moments when the artist, leaving his piano and rising in front of the pit, thanked his fans but also his musicians and his team, some of whose members have followed him for more than 40 years.

"I want to pay tribute to these musicians," he said. "They're really amazing (..) and they are the best."

Shortly after "Border Song" dedicated to Aretha Franklin, "I'm still standing" saw the 30,000 or so spectators of the Tele2 Arena stand up as one.

Before the encore, Elton John had broadcast a message from Coldplay who played that night also in the Scandinavian country, in Gothenburg (west) in which the singer Chris Martin thanked him for his career and his commitments.

The most lucrative tour of all time

"It was amazing. I don't have the words yet because I haven't digested everything yet," said Anton Pohjonen, a 25-year-old Finnish banker.

"It's almost crying for him," added Swedish professor Conny Johansson, who had had his tickets for four years.

Jeanie Kincer, a fifty-year-old from Kentucky, USA, wanted to "be there for last because I was too young to be there at first".

For the occasion, she wore red shorts with suspenders and a red, yellow and brown T-shirt, an almost perfect copy of the clothes Elton John had chosen at his first concert in Stockholm in 1971.

Saturday was the second night in a row that the stadium welcomed the British star to a sold-out crowd for the final leg of this final tour that began five years ago and was disrupted by Covid-19 and hip surgery in 2021.

With "Farewell Yellow Brick Road", Elton John will have given 330 concerts before Stockholm, crisscrossing Europe, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and United Kingdom. © Caisa Rasmussen / AP

With "Farewell Yellow Brick Road", Elton John will have given 330 concerts before Stockholm, crisscrossing Europe, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and United Kingdom.

According to figures published by Billboard, the revenues of this great and final tour exceeded $ 800 million.

"For the most lucrative tour in the history of the world, 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road' is strangely sober," said the daily Dagens Nyheter, which nevertheless welcomed the contagious enthusiasm of the artist with 300 million records sold.

The "reservations are easy to forget when Elton John, dressed in a harlequin sequined blazer and smiling from ear to ear, taps his grand piano as if everything depended on it".

In total, the 76-year-old artist will have played in front of 6.25 million fans during this tour.

Out of all the recent farewell tours, Elton John's swan song feels most emotional to me. It seems inconceivable he won't be on tour again. Tonight's final "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is really touching and lovely. A farewell that's had decades to ripen. https://t.co/NByWjXfvBp

— Annie Zaleski (@anniezaleski) July 9, 2023

"I'm sad he's retiring but it's good that he can enjoy his last years," said his American fan.

Before reassuring himself. "I know he's still going to play from time to time, he's going to release new music so there's still things to look forward to," she said.

With AFP

The summary of the weekFrance 24 invites you to look back on the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news with you everywhere! Download the France 24 app