Elton John’s road to retirement has been long and winding, stuttered due to the pandemic and stretched by some length delays to his globetrotting Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. The legendary artist toured Australia back in 2019 with what was meant to be his final ever shows in this part of the world, but in a fortuitous twist, Elton John does Australia once again come January 2023. Announcing a round of encore shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and – for the first time ever – Newcastle, Elton John returns at the top of next year for what has been confirmed as his final run down under before he retires from touring altogether.
The reason for this is quite simple. Although 2019 was supposed to be his last time in both Australia and New Zealand, he was forced to cancel on the kiwis and reschedule his shows at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium. The ‘Rocket Man’ singer is set to honour those shows but clearly thought he might as well pop over the ditch for a bit of an encore to 2019’s wildly successful tour, which moved over 700,000 tickets across 34 Australian and six New Zealand dates just months before Covid-19 came along like a wet blanket.
Elton John has been hitting this retirement tour for quite a while now, playing over 300 shows on five different continents. And while all that’s been going on, the man has seen his life story turned into a reasonably successful biopic with Dexter Fletcher’s Rocketman hitting cinemas in 2019.
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If you saw Elton John tour Australia towards the end of 2019, then you’ll know what to expect. The set-up won’t change. We’ll still be getting the long, exciting greatest hits set list including the likes of ‘Your Song,’ ‘Crocodile Rock,’ ‘I’m Still Standing,’ and ‘Tiny Dancer,’ set against a large display cycling through behind-the-scenes images from Elton John’s five-decade career.
Or he could just pull a John Farnham and announce farewell tours every year.
Elton John Australia & New Zealand – ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ Encore Tour 2023
Tuesday, January 10 – McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Friday, January 13 – AAMI Park, Melbourne
Wednesday, January 18 – Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Saturday, January 23 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Tuesday, January 24 – Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
Friday, January 27 – Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
Saturday, January 28 – Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
All remaining tickets to the New Zealand shows, which include two in Auckland and one in Christchurch, are now on sale while tickets to the encore Australian gigs will go on sale on Monday, August 1. There will also be a pre-sale for those keen for secure tickets early, starting from Tuesday, July 26.
Elton John Australia Tour 2023 – Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elton John retiring?
Elton John has confirmed that after the ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour, the legendary singer, whose career spans five decades, will officially stop touring to focus on his personal life.
When is Elton John coming to Australia?
Elton John will tour Australia for one last time in January 2023, starting at Newcastle on January 10, then heading down to Melbourne and Sydney before wrapping up in Brisbane on January 23. He will then head over to New Zealand to play two rescheduled shows in Auckland and one in Christchurch.
When do tickets for Elton John's Australian tour go on sale?
Tickets to see Elton John in Australia will go on sale on August 1st.
