Sir Elton John will stage a concert at Vicarage Road on May 29, 2010, the Watford Observer can reveal.

Watford Football Club has also confirmed that it will honour the superstar’s wishes by spending all proceeds on player transfers.

In March 2009 Elton stated he hoped to hold a concert next summer to raise money for the club and today it will announce that his only UK concert in 2010 will take place in Watford. Elton raised more than £1m for the club by holding a similar concert in 2005 and Watford FC’s chairman Jimmy Russo hopes next summer’s event will raise around £600,000.

Mr Russo said: “He is one of the best entertainers in the world and we are lucky that he is local and he can deliver like nobody else can - he is that good. He is a world superstar. The last concert was a great event. It was probably one of the best nights I have ever been to for any show, anywhere in the world.”

However, despite the club’s financial position, Russo stated “we have to honour what he is asking for”. Watford FC will pay for all the costs of holding the concert on May 29, 2010 and Jones admitted that due to it being a one-off event, there are a number of “singular costs” which will reduce the profits.

It is unclear exactly how much it will cost to hold the concert but Russo claims he would be “happy with a profit of £600,000 to £700,000. There will be three ticket price bands of £55, £75 and £100, the same as Sir Elton’s current UK tour.

Around 9,000 fans will be seated on the pitch next summer and Jones hopes the “reasonable pricing” will help sell out the expected 23,000 capacity. Watford will announce full details next week but tickets go on sale on November 9, 2009.

The Hornets struggled to cope with the initial demand for tickets in 2005 but Jones claimed the club had learnt from previous mistakes and confirmed the operation will be kept in house to try and keep costs down. Jones concluded: “There is no way you can put an event like this on and not have problems, our job is to minimise them. So we ask for supporters’ understanding and patience.”

Also see Elton John Tour News.

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