When Mick Jagger Got COVID: How the Stones Paused Their 2022 Tour

In June 2022, just hours before a show in Amsterdam, Mick Jagger tested positive for COVID-19. The band immediately pulled the plug on the first leg of their European tour—four dates in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Spain—while Jagger isolated with mild symptoms. The Stones famously pride themselves on never cancelling a tour, but this was a new kind of obstacle: their frontman was 78, Keith Richards was 78, and Ronnie Wood was 75. A full stop was the only safe play.

When the tour resumed two weeks later in London’s Hyde Park, the band had clearly tightened their bubble. The entire crew and band were required to test daily, backstage areas were reconfigured for social distancing, and private air travel replaced commercial flights to reduce exposure. Jagger, ever the pragmatist, reportedly kept his distance even during rehearsals. The result? No further positive cases among the touring party—and a triumphant set that included a tribute to Charlie Watts, who had died the year before. The Stones proved that even in their 60th year, they could adapt to a pandemic without losing a step.