Sir Elton John is to perform in north Norfolk next summer.Next summer, the stately surroundings of Holkham Hall will form the backdrop as Sir Elton takes up to 16,000 fans on a two-hour journey through his four decades as one of the most successful musical artists of all time.

Sir Elton John is to perform in north Norfolk next summer, and the rush to see him will begin tomorrow when ticket sales open.

Next summer, the stately surroundings of Holkham Hall will form the backdrop as Sir Elton takes up to 16,000 fans on a two-hour journey through his four decades as one of the most successful musical artists of all time.

The open-air concert will take place on Sunday, June 14 on the cricket ground in front of the historic hall.

And it's sure to be a huge crowd-puller - more than 22,000 fans filled Norwich City's Carrow Road stadium to see and hear the colourful performer on stage in 2005.

Tickets for the Holkham show will cost £60 and will go on sale tomorrow at 9am.

The north Norfolk event is only his second concert so far announced in Britain for 2009. Sir Elton is still completing a 2008 UK tour and will be in Brazil, Argentina and Chile and appearing across the USA next year before he arrives here, but he says he is looking forward to the gig.

"There's something very special about playing at such a historic site," he explained.

"One feels very grand with a stately home as a backdrop. I love playing in Britain on a warm summer's evening, and having an enormous picnic under an open sky is the perfect way to start.

"We'll be pulling out all the stops to make it a fantastic show."

With just days to go before Christmas, it is expected that many Sir Elton fans will find tickets in their yuletide stockings.

The show will be combined with

an afternoon picnic in front of the stage.

Holkham Hall has certainly lived up to its announcement last summer, when it declared it would not be staging concerts if it could not book acts of a good enough quality.

Previous shows at the hall and grounds have featured the tenor, José Carreras, and Jools Holland, followed in 2007 by Girls Aloud and Status Quo.

In a departure from his normal touring schedule of seated arenas and sports stadia, Sir Elton will play in the picnic-style setting with an early show due to finish by 9pm, allowing the audience plenty of time to for their journey home.

He will perform more than two hours of classics from his incredible back catalogue including Your Song, The Bitch is Back, Are You Ready for Love? Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Daniel, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting and Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word.

Viscount Coke, whose family owns the estate, said: "We are delighted to be hosting Sir Elton John at Holkham Hall next year.

"It is a real honour for us to

welcome him back to Norfolk after an absence of four years and for him

to have chosen Holkham as the venue."

Sir Elton has been one of the dominant forces in rock and pop, selling more than 250 million records. He has had 59 top-40 singles, including 16 top 10s, four number twos and nine number ones.

Tickets for the Holkham Hall show will cost £60 and will go on sale on Friday at 9am.

They can be ordered by contacting the Elton John 24-hour hotline numbers: 0871 231 0835, 0844 847 2493 and 0844 338 8000.

Tickets can also be bought online at www.seetickets.com, www.ticketmaster.co.uk and www.theticketfactory.com.

For hospitality packages call 01753 626910.