Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour is already the highest-grossing concert tour of all time according to Billboard, and is now approaching another milestone total.

Billboard Boxscore shows the tour has grossed US$887 million (€818m) from 5.7 million ticket sales across 309 shows up to 30 May 2023. The figures include earnings from nine of the 76-year-old’s recent 10 dates at The O2 in London, which generated $25.3m from 148,000 tickets.

With a string of European dates still to come, the tour will have comfortably exceeded $900m in earnings upon its scheduled conclusion at Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena on 8 July. The legendary musician will play the last UK tour date when he tops the bill on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage on Sunday 25 June.

Kicking off in Allentown Pennsylvania in September 2018, Farewell Yellow Brick Road was originally due to wrap up in 2021, encompassing five continents, but was disrupted by the pandemic. Garnering $138.2m in 2023 so far, it sits in second place in Billboard‘s mid-year charts behind Harry Styles’ Love On Tour ($138.6m), trailed by Coldplay ($95.3m), Ed Sheeran ($93.9m) and Daddy Yankee ($72.5m).

Elton’s farewell tour has long since surpassed the previous record holder, Sheeran’s 2017-19 ÷ (Divide) Tour – which grossed $776.2m from 255 concerts – in the revenue stakes and is expected to finish up around $925m. However, the Rocket Man’s stay at the summit could prove short-lived, with Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour tipped to ultimately set a new bar.

“BEING ABLE TO CELEBRATE A TRUE MUSIC LEGEND IN A SPECIAL WAY WAS HUGELY IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US AT THE O2”

The O2 recently presented Elton with a special award to mark his final show of the run at the venue on 30 May, and his last ever tour show in London. Awards were also presented to his touring team, including representatives from Rocket Entertainment, Marshall Arts and AEG Presents.

Across the 10 shows, The O2 was transformed in tribute, with a yellow brick road taking fans from North Greenwich station to The O2‘s main entrance. Inside the venue, a 5m wide pair of Elton’s sunglasses hung from the roof to delight fans on arrival, sustainable paper cups featuring tour artwork were available on the arena concourses, and an additional merchandise store was opened.

“Being able to celebrate a true music legend in a special way was hugely important for all of us at The O2,” says Christian D’Acuña, senior programming director at The O2. “Elton John’s final tour is certainly one for the history books, and we’re truly honoured to have hosted 10 nights of the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.

“Being able to transform the venue into a massive tribute to Elton for his show dates, with our very own yellow brick road, created some truly special moments for fans and staff at the venue. A huge thank you to the teams at Rocket Entertainment, Marshall Arts and AEG Presents, and of course to the legend himself, Elton.”

A special report on the record-breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour will be published in the July edition of IQ Magazine.

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