Rod Stewart's decision to retire from touring after six decades is contextualised by extensive career history and recent health challenges. The 81-year-old's touring life began as a teenager in the early 1960s and included being deported from Spain for vagrancy, whilst his recent US farewell tour saw multiple health setbacks: cancellations in 2025 due to flu, Covid and strep throat, followed by a heart procedure and an oxygen mask incident in 2026. Despite these challenges, his artistic output remains strong, with his 2024 album Swing Fever (a collaboration with Jools Holland) reaching No. 1.

The Final Encore tour spans the UK and Europe from April to July 2027, with two rescheduled Colorado performances planned for September 2027. Stewart's commercial success has been substantial and enduring: his 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story topped the charts, and since then all but one of his 29 studio albums have reached the UK Top 10. Though retiring from touring, he continues to create music: he and Ronnie Wood from his former band Faces have unfinished songs they hope to record together.