Sir Elton John told thousands of his fans at Glastonbury Festival that it was a “very special and emotional night” as he perfomed what is expected to be his final show in England.
The superstar walked on to the Pyramid Stage in a gold suit before taking a seat at the piano as fireworks went off on Sunday evening, marking the final performance of the festival.
Sir Elton told the crowd: “I never thought I would ever play Glastonbury and here I am.
“It’s a very special and emotional night for me because it might be my last show ever in England, so I had better play well and I had better entertain you, you’ve been standing there so long and I really appreciate all the outfits and everything.”
The show is billed as the 76-year-old’s final UK gig, before he retires from touring at the end of his Farwell Yellow Brick Road tour.
He launched into renditions of Benny And The Jets, Daniel, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues.
As the sun set, the crowd sung along to a passionate rendention of Your Song.
Sir Elton’s husband David Furnish previously revealed the singer was to be joined by four special guests during his headline set - the first was Gabriels singer Jacob Lusk.
Then Stephen Sanchez was called onto the stage to perform his song Until I Found You, with Elton John on piano. Later in the set, The Killers singer Brandon Flowers joined Sir Elton to perform crowd pleaser Tiny Dancer.
Finally, Rina Sawayama sang alongside Sir Elton in duet Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.
Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis teased details of Sir Elton’s Pyramid stage show in an interview with the festival’s Free Press newspaper, saying the singer had been “carving out a set that’s going to be completely unique” to the festival.
Eavis told the newspaper, which published editions on Thursday and Sunday, that Sir Elton had been “very involved”.
“We have so many artists playing here and often we don’t have much direct contact. But Elton has been very involved and we’ve worked really closely. He’s so excited and engaged with what Glastonbury is,” she said.
Eavis revealed the singer had called her “out of the blue” too, saying: “Which has been quite surreal. Standing there in the farmhouse chatting to Elton while trying to get the kids ready for school, or whatever. But he’s been absolutely lovely.
“He’s been carving out a set that’s going to be completely unique to Glastonbury.
“I love his love for doing that. I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s going to be amazing.”
Sir Elton has travelled the globe on his marathon Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour over the past few years.
Throughout the tour, the megastar has treated fans to elaborate shows filled with extravagant costumes, spectacular visuals and classics from his catalogue including Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, and Your Song.
Earlier on Sunday, Blondie brought the heat in an electric set on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage.
Frontwoman Debbie Harry commanded the stage throughout the performance while dressed in a black sequinned skirt and jacket paired with dark visor sunglasses and thigh high boots.
They launched their set with hits One Way Or Another, Hanging On The Telephone and Call Me.
Harry addressed their crowd afterwards, saying: “Good afternoon, good evening, good day, good night. Thank you, it’s very nice to be here, I hope you’re all having a lovely time.
“We had to get those phone songs out of the way because none of it is relevant today, we all have our phones in our pockets.”
The rock band continued to rattle through hits Will Anything Happen, Rapture and Atomic – which ended with one of the guitarists playing his instrument behind his head.
They later changed to a more joyful sound as they moved on to The Tide Is High, with Harry getting the audience to sing back the tune at one stage, describing it as “so pretty”.
Before launching into their track Maria, she said: “All right, all you girls out there. All you girls who want to be girls, all you boys who want to be girls. Anyone who wants to be a f****** girl.”
The frontwoman also reflected on Blondie’s relationship with Glastonbury as they returned to the festival after playing in 1999 and 2014.
She told the crowd: “We’ve got a long track record with you guys so thank you very much for that.”
As the set drew to a close, Harry donned a jacket decorated with fragmented glass to sing chart-topper Heart Of Glass before ending with Fun and Dreaming.
Lil Nas X followed the rockers on the main stage in an energetic show.
Across the festival site on The Other Stage, singer Becky Hill fought back tears while she delivered a typically high-energy set.
The 29-year-old repeatedly told herself “don’t cry” before addressing the crowd of thousands after her performance of Last Time.
Donning an outfit scattered with yellow smiley faces, she thanked the Eavis family for having her at Worthy Farm, before later adding: “This is a truly life-changing moment for me. I get Glastonbury now and I’ll be back every single year as long as I can be.”
Before Blondie took to the main stage, Yusuf/Cat Stevens played the prestigious tea-time legends slot, taking festival-goers on a melodic journey through the ages during the set.
The folk singer-songwriter, 74 also hailed the NHS and critiqued ongoing wars across the world during the performance, saying his solution to the conflicts was to “lock all the leaders up in London Zoo”.
He also paid tribute to fellow world-class musicians including the late George Harrison and Nina Simone during his set, describing them as inspirations for him.
A musical group celebrating the descendants of the Windrush generation opened the main stage on Sunday.
The Bristol Reggae Orchestra and Windrush Choir, a musical group from Bristol which celebrates the Windrush generation and its descendants, kicked off proceedings with by performing songs including Home and Windrush Child.
The appearance comes as the festival takes place this weekend 75 years after the Windrush generation arrived in the UK.
