Ed Sheeran announces a new tour of Australia with ticket prices capped
THE world’s biggest name in music Ed Sheeran is returning to tour Australia and has insisted on a pricing cap for tickets.
Music
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ED Sheeran will play stadiums in Australia next March.
The British chart-topper has insisted on capping ticket prices at around $165 and offering two cheaper pricing options, at around $70 and $100. And the down-to-earth superstar will not be offering expensive VIP packages.
Sheeran will play the new Perth Stadium on March 3, Adelaide Oval on March 7, Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, on March 10, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, on March 16 and Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, on March 20.
All shows are all-ages. Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, May 23 at staggered times across the states to try and deal with demand.
A pre-sale for Frontier Touring members starts on May 16.
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Once again, Sheeran will be the only musician on stage, using his loop pedal to create a one-man-band.
“He’s bringing out a gigantic production with screens and all sorts of things,” promoter Michael Gudinski said. “But it’s incredible as a one-man show he’s got such a rapport with his audience and he can handle playing a stadium by himself.”
Gudinski said Frontier is actively trying to stop the modern scourge of ticket scalping and resale on sites such as Viagogo.
No tickets for Sheeran’s March tour will appear on the controversial Ticketmaster Resale site, where tickets for other sold-out concerts have appeared for inflated prices.
A limit of four tickets per punter will be set and hard tickets will not be sent out until January 30 to keep them off resale sites for as long as possible.
“Ed’s obsessed about stopping scalping; his manager went to the House of Commons (in Britain) about it.” Gudinski said. “It’s becoming such an issue. Eventually with technology there’ll be ways to eradicate it.
“I hope people are learning to buy through official outlets. Even on some shows that aren’t sold out people are buying through Gumtree and Viagogo and paying way too much.
“The prices (for Sheeran’s tour) are very civilised and that’s come from Ed himself. He doesn’t do any VIP packages whatsoever. He hates the idea of charging people to meet him. He comes from the school of Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters. The great thing about Ed is that the guy himself is such a fan of music. He’s listening to music constantly. He’s got incredible taste over so many genres of music and it reflects in his own music.”
Sheeran is expected to add more shows to the tour in key markets such as Melbourne and Sydney, where, tellingly, several days have been left free between shows.
Unlike Adele, Sheeran will not perform in the round and all floor tickets will be general admission standing — around $165 for front and $100 for rear GA.
“That’s the way Ed likes it,” Gudinski said.
Opening acts will be announced at a later stage, although the promoter noted “people are queuing up to join this tour”.
Sheeran is set to play for at least 270,000 Australians, even before the likely addition of extra shows.
The British performer is the first artist to be announced to play at the new Perth Stadium, which is due to open early next year.
“It’s not finished yet, but I’ve had a look inside it and it’s magnificent,” Gudinski said.
“Ed’s really excited about playing a new venue.”
Sheeran’s album ÷ (Divide) spent eight weeks at No. 1 in Australia and his single Shape Of You is now the longest-running No. 1 in ARIA singles chart history, clocking up 15 weeks.
The singer/songwriter has sold over 1.2 million copies of his three albums in Australia; all three are this week sitting inside the ARIA Top 20. Combined, the albums have sold over 20 million copies globally.
Sheeran has had 17 Top 10 hits in Australia and all 16 songs from ÷ charted in the ARIA Top 40 upon release — another new chart record.
He has toured here four times and made several promotional visits, including this February where he played invite-only, intimate shows at the Sydney Opera House and on top of Hanging Rock.
The Australian leg of the ÷ tour will be followed by Sheeran playing more stadium shows in New Zealand and a second leg of the tour around the world.
The tour began in Italy this March and Sheeran will be playing dates until the end of November, before picking it up again in early 2018.
“Ed loves breaking records and I think this tour will break some records, particularly at the prices we’ve set,” said Gudinski. “And those prices come from him. There’s no half measures with Ed. His audience has expanded, it’s really crossed over. Triple M are playing Ed now. Every time you think he can’t get bigger he does.”
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