How much was Elton John paid for Glastonbury performance?
26 June 2023, 11:45
Glastonbury - Fans in place 11 hours before Sir Elton John headline set
Here's how much Elton John was reportedly paid to play the main stage at Glastonbury...
Glastonbury fans turned out in their thousands to watch Elton John play his last ever show in the UK.
Taking to the Pyramid Stage on Sunday evening, the icon performed a set of his greatest hits including Rocket Man, Cold Heart and Bennie and the Jets.
But, as Elton sings his heart out in front of the huge crowd, fans of the star are already wondering how much he was paid to perform at the iconic festival.
So, what was Elton John paid to appear at Glastonbury? Here’s what we know…
How much was Elton John paid for Glastonbury?
Music consultant specialising in live music venues and festivals Lyle Bignon told the Metro that Elton John would have received around a quarter of a million pounds.
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He said: "The likes of Elton John and Guns N' Roses, who have decades of global fame behind them, can likely command higher prices running into the £250,000+ range."
Glastonbury performers are said to get around 10 per cent less compared to other festivals, as organisers spend the rest of the money donating millions of pounds to charities every year.
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In 2017, co-organiser Emily Eavis said: "We're not in a situation where we're able to just give people enormous amounts of money.
"So we're really grateful for the bands that we get because they're basically doing it for the love of it."
Emily’s father and the founder of Glastonbury Michael Eavis previously said headliners Coldplay and Paul McCartney were previously paid around £200,000.
"I paid £200,000 for Paul McCartney and for Coldplay, and although it sounds a lot, they could have charged me far more,” he said.
Rob Da Bank - organiser of Bestival - has also spilled the beans on how much Glastonbury spend on their headliners.
He told Somerset Live: "They cap their budget and even the headliners don't get paid more than 500 grand, I think, which is cheap for some of the headliners and they've had a lot of them.”
Back on this year’s Pyramid stage, Elton John brought out a string of special guests including The Killers' lead singer Brandon Flowers, who helped him sing Tiny Dancer.
He also brought on US singer and American Idol star Jacob Lusk, as well as Stephen Sanchez who sang his own song Until I Found You.
The final guest was Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama who Sir Elton dueted well-known hit Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with.
