The Yellow Brick Road to see Elton John

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/04/2024 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s coming up on the one-year anniversary of my greatest musical adventure — going to see Elton John live in London, England. It was to be a once-in-a-lifetime concert. And it happened twice.

I grew up in a large, music-loving family, with an older sister who liked Elton John’s music. I listened to a lot of his songs as a kid in the ’70s, and somewhere along the way became a fan myself. At various times in my life I’d thought, “Hmm, I should go see Elton John in concert one day.” But ,for whatever reason, I never did.

Fast-forward to January 2022, when he resumed his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, I thought “Hmm, I really should go see Elton John’s final tour.” After all, it was my last chance.” And again, for whatever reason, I never did.

In November 2022, Elton John performed at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for the last time — his last show in North America — and somehow I had missed them all. It dawned on me that if I was ever going to see Sir Elton in concert, it had to be now, and, since there were no more shows on my continent, it would have to be far away.

After checking the remaining tour dates and locations, I settled on Sunday, April 9 in London, during his final run of shows in the U.K. With direct flights from Toronto, the travel would be non-complicated. And since the U.K. had long been on my travel bucket-list, why not check-off two birds with one trip?

The next thing I knew… I had secured a concert ticket online, booked airplane tickets, and began exploring hotel options. There was no turning back — I was finally going to see Elton John. In Great Britain, no less. His homeland. It was sure to be amazing.

As April drew closer, I became more and more excited. The closest I’d ever been to seeing Elton John in real life was in 2013 at Fizz Las Vegas – an elegant champagne bar opened by his husband, David Furnish. Word on the street was that they hung out there sometimes when they were in town. As I slowly sipped my fancy cocktail, I wondered if they might make an appearance. I waited all evening, just in case. They never did.

Finally, April rolled around, and with it came my first trip to London. I arrived on a Thursday morning, and, despite jetlag and drizzly skies, immediately set out to explore my surroundings. With a wealth of history, interesting folklore, cool districts, and world-renowned sites and attractions, there were endless things to do and see while awaiting concert day. If anything, the biggest challenge was having enough time to take it all in.

London is a great place for walking, and the public transit is incomparable. Once you figure out the initially intimidating train and underground system, it’s actually quite easy, efficient, and affordable to get around this massive cosmopolitan region.

After only two wrong train incidents, I became quite adept at getting ust about anywhere. I was confident that by Sunday, I’d be able to get to the O2 Arena easily, efficiently, and affordably. To take in what was sure to be – for me – the concert of a lifetime…

MORE TO COME: My next Travelations will share about the Elton John concert I waited an entire lifetime for, and what it was like to finally see the musical icon live onstage.