Sir Rod Stewart, 80, ‘stuns’ festival organisers as he snubs gig over fee
Sir Rod Stewart has left concert organisers “stunned” with his huge appearance fee and luxurious demands.
The 80-year-old rocker is building up to headlining the Glastonbury Legends stage this summer.
The music legend explained he was: “Absolutely thrilled to announce that I’ll be playing @glastofest 2025!”
Glastonbury will run between June 25-29 this year, with tickets for the iconic music festival selling out in moments.
The news came as a welcome surprise to Stewart fans as the star had earlier that month announced plans to scale back his performances.
“This will be the end of large-scale world tours for me,” the Maggie May hitmaker revealed in an Instagram post earlier this month.
“I have no desire to retire,” Stewart declared despite the announcement, adding that “I’m fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 meters in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79.
“I’d like to move onto a Great American Songbook, Swing Fever tour the year after next – smaller venues and more intimacy.
“But then again, I may not…” the iconic rocker signed off: “The Ambiguous Sir Rod Stewart.”
Now, it appears another impediment to further performances from the rock legend is the significant fee he demands for appearing.
Organisers from the Henley Festival, an annual black-tie show on the banks of the Thames, reportedly balked at the asking price of £1million for a gig.
“We did try to get Rod Stewart but he was expensive. Far too expensive,” a Henley insider told the Daily Mail.
In addition to the mammoth appearance fee was the request that Stewart be ferried to and from the gig via helicopter.
The demands were too great even for the reportedly “stunned” organisers who managed to net Motown legend Diana Ross.
Also appearing at the July 9 event are Rick Astley, McFly, Jamie Cullum and Matteo Bocelli.
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Despite his reported appearance fee, Stewart has explained he will take a serious financial loss during his Glastonbury appearance.
“It’s going to cost me a fortune to do it,” he said on TalkSport.
“I’ve got to bring all my band back from America, of course Glastonbury don’t pay for that.
“But I don’t care if it cost me $1million, I would have done it,” he concluded, “This is a great honour. It really is the greatest honour.”