Rod Stewart has announced The Final Encore, a UK and European tour he says will bring his life as a full-scale touring artist to an end.
The Rod Stewart final tour 2027 begins in Dublin on 23 April before travelling through the UK and across Europe, with Stewart telling fans that “the time has come to say farewell to life on the road”.
The announcement does not mean he plans to stop performing altogether. Stewart has left the door open to occasional concerts in the future, but has described The Final Encore as his last major tour.
For UK fans, the timing is particularly relevant today because the first artist ticket presale opens at 10am on Tuesday 29 September.
Rod Stewart final tour 2027 UK dates
Four UK arena concerts have currently been announced:
29 April 2027: OVO Hydro, Glasgow
4 May 2027: Utilita Arena Birmingham
6 May 2027: Co-op Live, Manchester
11 May 2027: The O2, London
The UK shows follow concerts in Dublin and Belfast before the tour continues into mainland Europe.
Howard Jones has been confirmed as the support artist for the UK and Ireland leg. Live Nation lists the UK Final Encore dates and Howard Jones as support
The European itinerary then takes Stewart through cities including Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Budapest, Munich, Prague and Kraków before a currently announced final show in Hannover on 24 July.
More dates could still be announced. The initial tour announcement ends with “more to follow”, so the current itinerary should not be treated as necessarily complete.
When do Rod Stewart tickets go on sale?
The first artist presale opens today, 29 September at 10am BST, for eligible fans.
Additional venue and partner presales take place during the week, including O2 Priority and Live Nation sales at selected venues.
The main general sale begins at 10am on Friday 2 October.
For the London concert, Ticketmaster confirms The O2 show for 11 May 2027 and the full ticket sale schedule.
Tickets are subject to a six-ticket limit for the London date, with individual venues applying their own age and access requirements.
More than six decades on stage
The announcement brings one of the longest touring careers in British popular music towards a significant turning point.
Stewart began performing professionally during the 1960s before becoming known through groups including The Jeff Beck Group and Faces.
His solo career produced a catalogue stretching across rock, pop, soul and standards, including “Maggie May”, “You Wear It Well”, “Sailing”, “The First Cut Is the Deepest”, “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”, “Young Turks”, “Baby Jane” and “Rhythm of My Heart”.
His career has continued well into his eighties.
In 2024, his collaborative album with Jools Holland, Swing Fever, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, while recent years have included extensive touring and a major Glastonbury appearance.
Rather than framing The Final Encore as a retirement from music, Stewart is specifically drawing a line under the demands of large-scale touring.
That distinction matters. Fans may still see him perform after 2027, but the repeated cycle of international arena and stadium tours appears to be what he intends to leave behind.
Howard Jones joins the UK shows
The choice of Howard Jones as support adds another major name from British pop history to the UK concerts.
Jones became one of the defining British synth-pop artists of the 1980s with songs including “New Song”, “What Is Love?”, “Things Can Only Get Better” and “Like to Get to Know You Well”.
It gives the UK leg a line-up spanning several generations of British pop and rock audiences.
One final major tour
For Stewart, the title The Final Encore leaves little ambiguity about what this particular tour represents.
He has spent more than 60 years performing, and while he is not promising never to step onto a stage again, he is describing 2027 as the end of life as a regularly touring artist.
The Rod Stewart final tour 2027 reaches Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and London next spring.
For fans hoping to be there, the first presale opens today at 10am, followed by the general sale on Friday 2 October at 10am.
