Background
In May 2002, Cher announces she would embark on a three month tour that would be her last. She commented, "It's an artist's dream to have a career where you're continually drawing new people in, while hopefully keeping your longtime fans happy. But I'm certainly aware of the fact that it's a rare occurrence. I don't take for granted the fact that people still care about what I do on any level." She would later sarcastically remark,"I'm approaching 80 and if I did that thing everyone does, come back in five years, I'd be driving around in one of those carts you know, the ones with the joysticks you see in Costco. There are two reasons people come back. Because, like the Stones, they're broke. Again. Or they're old divas who can't wait to be out among their adoring fans. But this, this truly is it."
The tour kicked off in Toronto in June 2002 and would continue onward for a record breaking 326 shows, ending in Los Angeles April 2005. The final show was performed at the Hollywood Bowl, incidentally where Cher made her first concert appearance with former husband, Sonny Bono. Cher explains the longevity of the tour was based on asking her manager to continue to add dates because of the audience reaction. The tour was originally slated to end with the Australasian leg in the Fall of 2004, however, an additional North American leg was added in January 2005. She concluded, "I really don't want to stop. They're making me stop! I told the tour managers, 'But I haven't done Vermont or Delaware', and they said, 'There are no venues big enough, dear'. And then I said, 'So go out and build some! After that, physical restraint was mentioned.' But seriously, I figured if I didn't stop, I was going to go into permanent Marlene Dietrich mode. And these are the song I sang for audiences in Alaska, Ohio, Connecticut… and then I'd keep falling off my elephant and eventually become a recluse." After the tour, Cher had hopes of recording a Christmas album and a country duet album. Additionally, she wanted to continue filming movies, return to doing TV specials and appearing on Broadway.
The tour also gave Cher the opportunity to perform in new territories in Europe and North America, including her first tour to reach New Zealand. According to the Dakota Student, the performance at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota was the largest audience the artist has performed for during her solo career. Although the article states over 20,000 were in attendance, Billboard later reported an audience of 19,531 spectators.
Read more about this topic: Living Proof: The Farewell Tour
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