Rod Stewart Announces "The Final Encore" Tour: 20 Cities Mark the End of a Six-Decade Stage Career
Rod Stewart has announced a UK and European tour called "The Final Encore" for next spring, kicking off in Dublin in April and wrapping up the UK leg at London's O2 in May, with stops along the way in Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague and more, running through July.
This summer, Rod Stewart had to cancel some dates on his North American tour "One Last Time" due to a routine coronary stent procedure. Before that, he also had to pull out of a show at the last minute due to an "unexpected but minor medical procedure." Now he's stepping forward to announce a farewell tour called "The Final Encore" — which sounds like it's pushing "the last time" one step further.
In his statement, Stewart said: "Dear friends, it's time to say goodbye to touring. After more than sixty years, 'The Final Encore' will definitely be my last." He continued: "Since I was nineteen, I've been singing the music I love, and I've had the privilege of bringing it to you all around the world. It's given me a life beyond my wildest dreams, and I hope I've given you some wonderful memories in return."
The tour kicks off on April 23rd next year at Dublin's 3Arena, then heads to Belfast's SSE Arena and Glasgow's OVO Hydro, arriving in Birmingham's Utilita Arena on May 4th, performing at Manchester's Co-op Live on the 6th, and finally wrapping up the UK and Ireland leg at London's The O2 on May 11th. Howard Jones will serve as the opening act for this leg of the tour.
From late May through July, Stewart will head to mainland Europe, passing through Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome, Antwerp's AFAS Dome, Berlin's Uber Arena, Düsseldorf's PSD Bank Dome, Copenhagen's Royal Arena, Helsinki's Veikkaus Arena, as well as outdoor shows at Dalhalla in Rättvik, Sweden, and two stops in Norway — Trondheim and Bergen. The tour continues further south to Budapest's Sportarena, Munich's Olympiahalle, Pula Arena in Croatia, and Prague's O2 Arena, before finally wrapping up the entire tour with shows at Kraków's Tauron Arena on July 20th and Hannover's ZAG Arena on July 24th.
General ticket sales open this Friday (October 2nd) at 10am BST, with fan club presale starting the day before (Tuesday, September 29th) at the same time, followed by various local presales.
