Elton John will play three concerts in New Zealand as part of his final Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour next summer.
He will play at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Tuesday, February 4, 2020, Mission Estate in Napier on Saturday, February 8, and Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Sunday, February 9.
"New Zealand, I can't wait to be with you again. It's now 48 years since my first ever New Zealand concert. This tour will see my 12th concert in Auckland, my 2nd concert in Dunedin at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, which I opened many years ago, and my first performance at Hawke's Bay. I am thrilled that this final tour will see me and the band playing somewhere new in your great country," he was quoted as saying.
John, 71, is one of the most successful music artists in the world. He has sold more than 300 million records, and has had more than fifty top 40 hits.
John's career has seen him win 38 gold records, 31 platinum and multi-platinum albums, and he holds the record for the biggest-selling single of all time – Candle in the Wind in 1997.
The announcement will be a boon for Mission Concert organisers.
Mission concert organisers made the announcement on Sunday morning.
The announcement comes just days before this year's concert, featuring Phil Collins on Waitangi Day.
It was just a few years ago that the future of the event was called into question after the 2015 event was cancelled because a suitable act could not be found.
Since the first Mission Estate concert in 1993 there have been only two other years in which a concert did not go ahead; 2009 when rain forced Lionel Richie to pull the pin, and 2018 when Neil Diamond pulled out after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
The concert has featured some of the biggest names in showbusiness: Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers, Eric Clapton, Sting, Olivia Newton John and Rod Stewart.
It is held at the Mission Estate Winery's vineyards in the suburb of Greenmeadows in Napier, with shows regularly selling out.
Mission Members Concert Club Exclusive Pre-sale starts this Tuesday 12th February, from 9am only at missionconcert.co.nz
James Erskine, chairman of Mission Concert promoter SEL, says "New Zealand's love affair with Elton John goes back for decades and knows no boundary. We are all very excited as Elton is an artist we have been trying to get to the Mission for many years. To see him perform the songs that have been the soundtrack of our lives will be an incredible live concert experience and there is no better venue in the world to experience this but at the Mission".