Rod Stewart opens up on huge cost of playing Glastonbury as he reveals festival bosses' major rule

Scottish Sun

4 hours ago

He's performing as this year's Legends slot act, joining a long list of iconic acts who've taken on the prestigious role
OOH LA LA Rod Stewart opens up on huge cost of playing Glastonbury as he reveals festival bosses' major rule
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SIR Rod Stewart has lifted the lid on exactly how much he is getting paid to play at Glastonbury this year - as well as how much money he'll lose.
The rock icon, 80, is set to return to Worthy Farm for the first time in decades, having last performed on the Pyramid Stage 23 years ago.
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Sir Rod Stewart has revealed how much he will make and lose for playing Glastonbury
Credit: Getty
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The legendary rock singer will take to the stage at the iconic Pyramid Stage on June 29
Credit: Getty
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Sir Rod last performed at Glasto 23 years ago and will return as the Legends slot act
Credit: Splash
He's performing as this year's Legends slot act, joining a long list of iconic acts who've taken on the prestigious role.
In a new interview, the Maggie May singer opened up about the cost of making his Glasto comeback.
Sir Rod has been touring in the United States, a post that has meant his crew, staging, and equipment are all currently on the other side of the Atlantic.
And the logistics of transporting everything back for the UK festival won't come cheap.
He claimed he would receive £120,000 from festival bosses but it will set him back £300,000 to take to the stage early in the evening on Sunday, June 29.
Speaking to Radio Times, Sir Rod said: "It was about eight months ago when I was asked to do it, maybe a little longer. But it didn't fit with my schedule because I've got to bring everybody back from America.
"It's going to cost me £300,000 to do it and they only pay you about 120,000 quid. So it's going to cost me."
Despite the financial hit, Sir Rod is clearly not fazed by the expense.
For him, the chance to take on the Glastonbury Legends slot is well worth the price.
He added that it 'doesn't matter' if he ends up out of pocket.
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Sir Rod also revealed that he will only play for one hour and 15 minutes.
He said that he "begged" festival bosses for an extra 15 minutes as he usually performs for two hours but his request was knocked back.
This year's Glastonbury headliners include The 1975, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Charli XCX, Doechii, The Prodigy and Alanis Morissette.
Sir Rod was recently forced to cancel six more shows from his US tour after coming down with the flu.
In a post on Instagram last week, the hitmaker announced that he will now be cancelling four US tour dates and rescheduling two others, all of which were meant to take place over the next eight days.
He wrote: "So sorry my friends. I'm devastated and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to my fans.
"I'll be back on stage and will see you soon."
The Grammy-winner signed off with a heartbroken emoji.
His next slide confirmed the four cancelled dates are three performances at the Colosseum Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada, and one at Lake Tahoe Amphitheater at Caeser's Republic in Stateline, Nevada.
He is rescheduling two dates at casinos in California.
Sir Rod has also axed a number of dates at his Colosseum residency over the last week, with his scheduled June 2nd and June 5th performances.
The multiple cancellations come after he was put on vocal rest between performances last month.
His string of performances come after Sir Rod noted he was planning to stop large-scale world tours at the end of this year.
However, he vowed to keep performing, just at more intimate venues.