Sir Elton John thanks 'home crowd' as he kicks off final London shows

Sir Elton John had a lot of love for his ‘home crowd’ as he kicked off a series of shows in London.

Elton’s farewell tour has been the longest of long goodbyes, but the great showman appeared full of energy and his voice, powerful as ever. The singer-songwriter – who recently turned 76 – is performing 10 shows at London’s O2 arena as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.

A few hours before the show, Sir Elton took to Instagram to praise his fans posting ‘Liverpool, Birmingham, Dublin, Belfast… you were spectacular!’, he wrote.

‘Can not wait to kick the London shows off tonight, nothing beats a home crowd!!’

Taking to the stage in front of a 20,000-strong crowd, Sir Elton was wearing a glittery black tailcoat jacket and signature bejewelled glasses – and opened the show with Bennie And The Jets.

He is set to play eight more shows at the O2 in April and a further one in May before taking the tour to Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Aberdeen, and Glasgow. His North American leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour was filled with pyrotechnics, spectacular visuals, and several guest appearances, including Dua Lipa.

The veteran pop star’s final ever gig in the UK will take place on June 25, when he will headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in Somerset.

Sir Elton said in December ‘there is no more fitting way to say goodbye to my British fans’ than playing his final UK show at the Worthy Farm festival.

However, one gig the much-loved star won’t be doing is King Charles III’s Coronation due to scheduling conflicts.

Elton will perform eight more shows at the O2 in April and a further one in May before taking the tour to Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Aberdeen and Glasgow.