Sir Elton John has shared an emotional message with his fans before his final show tonight.
The Rocket Man singer, 76, reflected on his mammoth farewell tour ending ahead of performing in Sweden this evening, where he dedicated one of his songs to the late Aretha Franklin.
Elton's swan song is billed as marketing the legendary singer's retirement from touring, with his final UK performance taking place at Glastonbury last month.
Taking to his Instagram page this afternoon, Elton shared an update to fans which featured a clip of him announcing the end of his touring days on a talk show and highlighted milestones from the 330-date megatour.
Standout moments included two proposals, 16 Gucci suits, 990 drumsticks were used and that the finale tour was watched by more than six million fans.
Alongside the post, he wrote: “What a journey this tour has been and now we find ourselves at the end of it. Tonight is the final night.”
He also shared a photo of the arena to his Instagram story and wrote: “One final farewell”.
Fans have rushed into the comments to praise the star for his mammoth final tour and celebrate his music, as one wrote: "Sir Elton John, You have shared with us decades of beautiful music and stories one after the other.
"You are irreplaceable and the most influential, talented artist and human being. You deserve every blessing life can offer. We love you and thank you for being a great inspiration to all!"
Another echoed their thoughts as they added: "You’re the best for ever Elton. Thank you."
"You are the music of my childhood and now my children share my love for your music. Thank you for the memories xx," said a third.
Singer Tom Grennan also joined in the comments as he wrote: "Unreal! What a legend and inspiration."
Elton went on to kicked off the final show of his mammoth tour in Sweden with his hit song Bennie And The Jets. The music icon told the adoring fans in Stockholm that he “better make it a good show” as it acknowledged it was the last of his farewell tour.
After a rousing rendition of Philadelphia Freedom, he riled up the audience by waving and said: “Good evening Stockholm. Well this is it.
“This is it. I’m very glad to be in Sweden and this beautiful country… We better make it a good show. Here we go.” He then launched into I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues.
The dad-of-two then dedicated the next track on his set list – Border Song – to the late Aretha Franklin.
He recalled to the thousands of fans in Stockholm that when his self-titled second album came out in 1970, that he and his long-term songwriting partner Bernie Taupin “could not believe our luck” when she covered the song.
Sir Elton John recalled that he went on to meet and record with the soul singer and that she insisted on performing for his Aids Foundation six months before she died in 2018, despite being ill.
After the poignant anecdote, he dedicated the song “to the legacy of the queen of soul”.
He followed it up with a vibrant performance of his hit song Tiny Dancer, which he sang while playing the piano.
The end of Elton's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour comes as the music icon ends this weekend with record takings of well over £700million.
He smashed the $900m barrier in his 300 dates over three years across five continents, according to US industry website Billboard – with another $20m (£15.6m) expected from eight gigs yet to be included in its calculations.
It means he has soared past previous record holder Ed Sheeran who took £606.8m for his Divide tour ending in 2019, and U2’s two-year 360 tour which made £575.5m by its end in 2011.
The end of Elton's tour also comes just two weeks after he headlined Glastonbury to a crowd thought to have topped 100,000 and a record peak audience of 7.6 million watching on BBC1.
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