Living Proof: The Farewell Tour (also referred to as simply The Farewell Tour and later dubbed The Never Can Say Goodbye Tour) was the fifth concert tour by American singer-actress Cher to promote her twenty-fourth studio album, Living Proof and her eighth official compilation album, The Very Best of Cher. It began on June 14, 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and was originally planned as a 59-date tour in North America.
Due to the popularity of the tour, Cher decided to extend it by 100 more shows in North America then, after the tour concluded in 2004, she announced plans of playing in Europe, Oceania and Asia to play in territories she either had never been to or had not played for a long time. The final show took place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles after a record-breaking 325 dates, grossing well over $200 million and earning Cher the Guinness World Record for the "Highest Grossing Tour by a Female Artist" at the time.
The tour was planned similarly to her previous 1999/2000 Do You Believe? Tour. The set list consisted of 21 songs, 4 video montages, dancers and aerialists. It also included a dozen costume changes, designed by Cher's longtime collaborator Bob Mackie. Some changes were made to the set list during the European and Australasian legs.
The tour generated positive reviews from critics. The concert was broadcast on NBC from American Airlines Arena, in Miami during Thanksgiving weekend. The concert special attracting near 17 million viewers and won three Primetime Emmy Awards. A DVD titled The Farewell Tour was released in summer 2003.
Although Cher stated that this would be her final tour, she returned to touring in 2014 with her Dressed to Kill Tour, which visited 49 cities in North America. However, it would remain her last world tour until she embarked on the Here We Go Again Tour (2018–2020).
Background
In January 2002, Cher said to Billboard magazine that she was contemplating a concert tour, but not for more than a year. "It honestly depends on whether or not I decide to do a couple of movies that I'm considering. It would be fun to do these new songs live, so we'll see what develops", she said. In May of the same year, she announced 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 in 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.