Australia’s obsession with Ed Sheeran

Just how in demand is Ed Sheeran in Australia? Attendees at his recent tour would suggest that he is indeed pretty popular.

The British pop sensation performed in front of 250,000 fans at ANZ Stadium across the three nights of his ‘Divide’ world tour.

On his previous world tour, ‘Multiply,’ Sheeran sang to a crowd of 36,545 across three nights at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, a whopping 70,000 less than the average nightly attendance for his ‘Divide’ tour.

Sheeran began the Australian leg of his tour in Perth, performing to a crowd of 60,000 at the new Optus Stadium, which broke the record for the largest ever attendance at the venue.

It’s not the only record Sheeran has broken. The superstar set the record for most tickets sold for a single tour in Australia and New Zealand.

The one million tickets sold easily surpassed the previous record held by Dire Straits, who sold 950,000 in 1986.

Set to perform a mammoth 18 shows will break a record for most shows by an artist on one tour, eclipsing the previous record of 14, set by ACDC.

Contrary to popular belief, the large crowds that go to watch Sheeran are not dominated by a single demographic. Instead, there has been a diversity of groups attending which is testament to his ability to write songs that connect with so many different people.

British magazine, GQ, probably says it best:

‘He is a man alone, in control and vivified by the connections his songs make with his people.’