Elton John announces last EVER world tour before he retires

Sir Elton John has revealed that he's set to retire, but not before one final world tour.

The 70-year-old singer-songwriter - who has suffered from poor health in recent years - is poised to walk away from touring the globe after 50 years and one last tour featuring 300 dates across the world.

The Farewell, Yellow Brick Road world tour, is reportedly set to take place across 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

"I've been touring since the age of 17. I'm not going to travel anymore," the star explained during a live-streamed press conference.

"I've been working constantly, I've been on the road constantly since 1970. I don't always play big cities, I like the smaller towns. I'm not in ill health - you couldn't do 300 performances if you were ill."

He said: "Performing live fuels me and I’m ecstatic and humbled to continue to play to audiences across the globe. I plan to bring the passion and creativity that has entertained my fans for decades to my final tour. After the tour finishes, I’m very much looking forward to closing off that chapter of my life by saying farewell to life on the road. I need to dedicate more time to raising my children."

Sir Elton - who has sons Elijah, five, and Zachary, seven, via a surrogate - noted that his children are what spurred his decision. 

"Once your life changes and you have the children, it changes your life so much - I love them so much. We're going to take them out for nine months and get them a tutor. I don't want to miss them and I don't want them to miss me."

"I want to go out with a bang, not a whimper - I want to leave people thinking ' I saw his last tour and it was amazing'."

The Farewell Yellow Brick Road Global Tour starts in the US on September 8 2018, before travelling to Europe in April 2019, Asia in November 2019, Australasia in December 2019 and into 2020, South America in March 2020, returning to Europe and the UK late 2020 and finishing back in North America in 2021.

Specific New Zealand dates have yet to b confirmed.

Last year the Rocket Man hitmaker spent two nights in intensive care and 12 days in hospital, after he contracted a "harmful and unusual" bacterial infection during his tour of South America.

Sir Elton was returning home to Britain following a performance in Santiago, Chile, when he became violently ill.

Meanwhile, in 2013, he was forced to cancel a planned appearance at London's Hyde Park because he needed to undergo emergency appendicitis surgery.

Sir Elton - who started his touring career in 1970 and has also held a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas - subsequently admitted that he could have "easily died" if he didn't go under the knife.

He shared: "I knew I was sick but I didn't know I had such a dangerous thing inside of me until I had a scan, which was after nine shows, 24 flights and a summer ball."

In March last year, Sir Elton revealed he planned to make a decision about his touring future in "the next six months".

The music icon admitted that he was keen to spend more time with his children.

The chart-topping star explained: "There will be a decision made in the next six months, probably.

"I will want to stop touring - not playing, but touring. Seventy isn't 60, it's not 50. I want to spend time with my boys."

- Bang! Showbiz, additional reporting by The Hits