"Before Ed Sheeran sets foot on stage, his origin story is already rolling. A pre-recorded video looms across the giant screen, as he narrates his own ascent: I just pushed and pushed. I was so focused on seeing how far I could take being an acoustic singer-songwriter from Suffolk. Then the screen cuts. A hidden platform rises from the centre of the audience and Sheeran appears, charging into his 2011 track You Need Me, I Don't Need You."
"Sheeran plays alone using a loop pedal, a favoured technique since he was a teen, layering guitar, percussion and vocals in real time. It's part of the charm, and part of the challenge: watching him build a song is one thing, but keeping 55,000 people riveted to that process is another. Across a two-hour-and-45-minute set, Sheeran powers through 29 songs, drawing on material from his 2025 album Play and his 15-year career."
A pre-recorded video recounts his origin before a hidden platform rises from the audience as Sheeran launches into You Need Me, I Don't Need You. The set uses a loop pedal, with Sheeran layering guitar and percussion in real time. The performance runs two hours 45 minutes and includes 29 songs from the 2025 album Play and a 15-year catalogue. He moves between a main stage and a separate platform linked by a retractable bridge. A large screen displays hyperactive visuals — balloons, dragons and Justin Bieber in a monkey suit — with occasional pyrotechnics. The vivid visuals contrast with the stripped-back solo performance and songs like Sapphire and Castle on the Hill prompt audience participation; Sheeran notes particularly enthusiastic crowds in Perth and Brisbane.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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