Elton John announces 3-year farewell tour, including January San Diego show

Elton John will retire after one final and very extensive farewell world concert tour, which will last three years and include more than 300 concerts.

The 70-year-old English pop-music superstar announced his retirement Wednesday at an invitation-only event at New York’s Gotham Hall that was simulcast in London and in Los Angeles at the Troubadour, the Hollywood club where he made his U.S. breakthrough performance in 1970.

John’s tour will begin Sept. 8 at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA, and conclude in 2021 in a yet-to-be-announced North American city. It includes a Jan. 29, 2019, concert at San Diego’s Valley View Casino Center.

Tickets go on sale Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. local time.

All announced tour dates and cities appear below, along with ticket information.

“Performing live fuels me and I’m ecstatic and humbled to continue to play to audiences across the globe,” John said in a statement released Wednesday.

“I plan to bring the passion and creativity that has entertained my fans for decades to my final tour. After the tour finishes, I’m very much looking forward to closing off that chapter of my life by saying farewell to life on the road. I need to dedicate more time to raising my children.”

Health may also be a factor.

John was forced to cancel concerts in California and the 2017 spring leg of his Las Vegas residency after being hospitalized with a bacterial infection while on tour in South America.

In July, 2013, his concert at London’s Hyde Park was canceled when the star had to undergo emergency appendicitis surgery - and he later admitted he “could have easily died” without treatment.

His 2010 San Diego concert at Cricket Wireless (now Mattress Firm Amphitheatre) was interrupted when he had to leave the stage after 40 minutes because of intestinal problems. He returned after a short while and delivered a rousing performance.

John currently has a residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, where he has dates scheduled until May 2018.

A pre-sale for American Express card members begins Thursday at 10 a.m., along with VIP packages that will only be available at eltonjohn.com.

The Ticketmaster Verified Fan registration opens today and runs through Saturday. However, San Diego’s Valley View Casino Center is not a Ticketmaster facility.

Tickets for the general public for John’s San Diego show will be available, starting Feb. 2 at 10 a.m., through axs.com, at the Valley View Casino Center box office (which will open an hour earlier than its usual 11 a.m. opening time) and via phone at (888) 929-7849.

Ticket prices for the San Diego concert are $45.50, $120.50 and $220.50, not including service charges.

Elton John “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” tour dates

8 September 2018 Allentown, PA PPL Center

11 September 2018 Philadelphia, PA The Wells Fargo Center

12 September 2018 Philadelphia, PA The Wells Fargo Center

15 September 2018 Buffalo, NY KeyBank Center

16 September 2018 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center

19 September 2018 Hartford, CT XL Center

21 September 2018 Washington DC Capital One Arena

22 September 2018 Washington DC Capital One Arena

25 September 2018 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

26 September 2018 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

28 September 2018 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre

29 September 2018 Québec City, QC Videotron Centre

October 2018

4 October 2018 Montreal, QC Bell Centre

6 October 2018 Boston, MA TD Garden

10 October 2018 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena

12 October 2018 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena

15 October 2018 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena

18 October 2018 New York, NY Madison Square Garden

19 October 2018 New York, NY Madison Square Garden

23 October 2018 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center

24 October 2018 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena

26 October 2018 Chicago, IL United Center

27 October 2018 Chicago, IL United Center

30 October 2018 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center

November 2018

2 November 2018 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center

3 November 2018 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena

8 November 2018 New York, NY Madison Square Garden

23 November 2018 Sunrise, FL BB&T Center

24 November 2018 Miami, FL AmericanAirlines Arena

27 November 2018 Orlando, FL Amway Center

28 November 2018 Tampa, FL Amalie Arena

30 November 2018 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

December 2018

1 December 2018 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

4 December 2018 Birmingham, AL Legacy Arena at The BJCC

6 December 2018 New Orleans, LA Smoothie King Center

8 December 2018 Houston, TX Toyota Center

9 December 2018 Houston, TX Toyota Center

12 December 2018 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center

14 December 2018 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

15 December 2019 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

January 2019

11 January 2019 Boise, ID Taco Bell Arena

12 January 2019 Portland, OR Moda Center

15 January 2019 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center

16 January 2019 Sacramento, CA Golden1 Center

18 January 2019 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena

19 January 2019 San Jose, CA SAP Center at San Jose

22 January 2019 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center

23 January 2020 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center

26 January 2019 Glendale, AZ Gila River Arena

29 January 2019 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center

February 2019

7 February 2019 Denver, CO Pepsi Center

9 February 2019 Tulsa, OK BOK Center

12 February 2019 Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center

13 February 2019 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center

19 February 2019 Milwaukee, WI Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center

21 February 2019 Minneapolis, MN Target Center

27 February 2019 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena

March 2019

1 March 2019 Albany, NY Times Union Center

8 March 2019 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center

12 March 2019 Raleigh, NC PNC Arena

13 March 2019 Columbia, SC Colonial Life Arena

15 March 2019 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena

EUROPE

May 2019

2 May 2019 Vienna, Austria Stadthalle

4 May 2019 Krakow, Poland Tauron Arena

7 May 2019 Prague, Czech Republic O2 Arena

9 May 2019 Bremen, Germany OVB Arena

11 May 2019 Stuttgart, Germany Schleyerhalle

12 May 2019 Oberhausen, Germany KoPi Arena

15 May 2019 Amsterdam, Netherlands Ziggodome

18 May 2019 Copenhagen, Denmark Royal Arena

19 May 2019 Gothenburg, Sweden Scandinavium

22 May 2019 Hannover, Germany Tui Arena

23 May 2019 Antwerp, Belgium Sportpaleis

26 May 2019 Munich, Germany Olympiahalle

June 2019

1 June 2019 Wiesbaden, Germany Bowling Green

12 June 2019 Dublin, Rep of Ireland 3Arena

29 June 2019 Montreux, Switzerland Montreux Jazz Festival

30 June 2019 Montreux, Switzerland Montreux Jazz Festival

george.varga@sduniontribune.com

Twitter @georgevarga