Rod Stewart, 80, issues Glastonbury update after facing series of setbacks

Following recent health setbacks that led to US concert cancellations, Sir Rod Stewart's commitment to Glastonbury is clearer than ever. 

The rocker has promised his much-anticipated performance at the iconic festival will be "glamorous" and "sexy". 

The 80-year-old singer, who will take to the Pyramid stage for the coveted Sunday teatime legends slot later this month, also revealed his appearance will cost him financially, but said it "doesn't matter". 

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Sir Rod told the Radio Times that, as he has been carrying out a concert residency in Las Vegas, he will have to pay to ship all his equipment back to the UK for the festival. 

"It's going to cost me £300,000 to do it and they only pay you about 120,000 quid," he said. 

Sir Rod, who has already revealed that his former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood will join him on stage, revealed he will have three different guests coming on, plus an orchestra. 

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"I'm really looking forward to it," he added. "And it is a different gig. It's like when you're playing a cup final: you're trying to treat it like another game. But, of course, it's not. It's special. It'll be glamorous, it'll be sexy. 

"And we've got a little orchestra coming on to play with us. And we may have some bagpipes…"

Earlier this month, Sir Rod announced that he had cancelled or postponed a number of his US concerts after suffering from flu. 

"I have to cancel and reschedule my next six concerts in June as I continue to recover from the flu," he wrote on Instagram. "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." 

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Sir Rod will take to the Pyramid stage on Sunday 29 June. He has previously said he was only due to play for an hour and a quarter, but has begged to be allowed to play for an extra 15 minutes so he can fit more songs into his set.

In 2024, he promised he would not retire but confirmed his 2025 European and North American shows would bring an end to his "large-scale world tours". 

Sir Rod's best-known solo songs include Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?, Every Beat Of My Heart and Maggie May. 

Last month, he was presented with a prestigious lifetime achievement award by five of his children at the American Music Awards (AMAs).