Ariana Grande wept as she thanked her fans for being “by her side” as she completed the last show of her world tour before stepping back from public life.

The US pop star performed the final night of a 10-night sold out residency at the O2 in London on Tuesday night.

The show was the 41st and final show of her Eternal Sunshine tour which began in the US on June 6.

Grande waited until an hour-and-a-half into the two-hour show before speaking to the crowd, telling them: “This has been such an extraordinary experience.

“Thank you for 10 beautiful London shows and for 41 incredible Eternal Sunshine tour shows.

“This has been one of the most beautiful, extraordinary experiences of my life and I just wanna express my gratitude.

“I’ll cherish this experience always – I have the best fans in the entire world and I always have. Thank you for being by my side.”

She later became emotional again as she thanked all the people who work on the show, including dancers, security, make-up and runners.

The 33-year-old American singer wore her signature ponytail for much of the show but did not wear her usual high heels – opting instead for flat black, and later white, above-the-knee boots after suffering a “deep cut” to her foot.

But the injury did not seem to affect her choreography which remained energetic as she danced across the stage, which covered half the length of the arena.

Grande announced last month, just days after the release of her new album Petal, that she would be taking a break from public life amid what her representative called “endless, ongoing public scrutiny”.

A music video for the new album’s title track had prompted renewed speculation about the singer’s health.

She dropped out of the upcoming London revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Sunday In The Park With George, in which she was due to appear opposite Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey.

Earlier on Tuesday, Bailey announced he would also withdraw from the play, saying: “Ari is one of my dearest friends, and my support for her is unwavering.”

While performing her hit Thank You, Next at the O2, Grande changed a lyric about ex-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez, a dancer and photographer – who she appeared to confirm a rekindled romance with on Instagram earlier this week.

The lyric change from “wrote some songs about Ricky, now I listen and laugh” to “wrote some songs about Ricky, I’m tryna make him my last” drew loud screams from fans.

Grande became emotional as she sang new track Nowhere, Nobody live for the first time – her voice breaking as she sang the opening lyric “I don’t believe in a perfect ending – but that’s alright.”

The singer appeared to be soaking in the atmosphere of the final show and was seen sharing smiles with her band and dancers and blowing kisses to her fans.

She seemed unfazed when fans at the final show continued screaming and failed her viral “mute challenge” where she asks the entire crowd to go silent as the lights dim.

Despite withdrawing from public appearances Grande is still due to appear in a new film, Focker-In-Law, in November – also starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro.

The audience at the O2 was shown a trailer for the film just before the concert began.

Grande has won three Grammy awards during her successful music career, which took off in 2013 after the release of her debut album, Yours Truly.

She was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Glinda in the big screen adaptation of Wicked.