Elton John brought this year’s Glastonbury Festival to a close on Sunday night, with a three-hour-long performance that was reportedly watched by over 7 million viewers on the BBC(opens in a new tab).
The numbers suggest the 76-year-old music icon’s set, possibly his “last show ever in England and Great Britain,”(opens in a new tab) is now one of the most-watched TV gigs of the year. In the UK, the most watched live TV episode of the year so far is the series finale of Happy Valley, with 7.5 million viewers(opens in a new tab).
In the U.S., after football broadcasts, CBS’ NCIS is the most watched broadcast TV this year(opens in a new tab), hitting 9.86 million viewers in Nielsen’s ratings. For perspective, on airing HBO’s The Last of Us finale garnered 8.2 million viewers(opens in a new tab) in January; in comparison, the Succession finale grabbed 2.9 million viewers (opens in a new tab)in May. Streaming, of course, is a whole other game.
At Glastonbury itself(opens in a new tab), Guns ‘N’ Roses’ performance surpassed 1 million views on the BBC’s broadcast while the Arctic Monkeys’ set saw over 1.5 million. Lewis Capaldi had 2.2 million viewers tune in(opens in a new tab), but the singer’s set was cut short as he experienced tics as a result of Tourette’s syndrome.
John described his Glastonbury appearance as a “very special and emotional”(opens in a new tab) night. The performance spanned several decades of his career, with distinctive costumes, special guests, and fireworks(opens in a new tab) adding to the magic.
