Elton John admits he is “intimidated” by Glastonbury headline slot

Ahead of his headline set on the Pyramid Stage, Elton John has admitted he is “intimidated” by the magnitude of the performance.

Before Glastonbury, which is the final show of his retirement tour, John is set to play ten shows at London’s O2 Arena. Ahead of those concerts, the singer spoke to BBC London and revealed he “hadn’t really thought about” playing Worthy Farm yet before adding: “I’m a little, not frightened, but I’m a little intimidated by it because I haven’t played there, I haven’t been there.”

John also spoke to Scott Mills on his BBC Radio 2 show and revealed he’d never previously been asked to perform at Glastonbury before this year. “It’s too many people for me,” he said of festivals. “I don’t like crowds. I have played festivals and I’ve really enjoyed them. But of course, Glastonbury is the crème de la crème.”

He continued: “To be honest with you, it’s the first time I’ve been asked to play it, I haven’t turned it down before. But it’s just come at the right time. I’m a great believer in serendipity and fate and this is the most wonderful way to sign off in England and Great Britain.”

On his plans for his set, John revealed: “I’ve got a different setlist to the tour, it’s going to be much different. I’ve got guests and I can’t tell you who they are, but it’s going to be wonderful. I’m really looking forward to it.”

On May 30th, Glastonbury revealed the full set times for the festival, with Elton scheduled to perform at 9:00pm on June 25th on the Pyramid Stage. Additionally, they announced the late additions to the line-up that weren’t previously announced. The new artists confirmed include Tom Grennan, Queens of the Stone Age, The Lathums and Rick Astley. In total, there are over 3,000 artists booked to appear at the festival.

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