On the back of the highest grossing tour of all time , there are few people better placed than Ed Sheeran to send a surge of optimism though the live music industry . Access talks to the team behind the star singer-songwriter ’ s huge 2022 stadium tour .
Words : Christopher Barrett
E d Sheeran ’ s ÷ ( Divide ) world tour in 2017-2019 grossed a record-breaking $ 776.2 million (£ 582.76m ) to surpass U2 ’ s landmark 360 ° Tour . His 255 shows across 43 countries were collectively attended by no less than 8,796,500 fans , setting another new record .
In September this year , just two months after the UK Government gave the live events industry the green light to reopen at full capacity after 16 months of closure , Sheeran ’ s team announced a 2022 tour of huge venues in the UK , Ireland , Central Europe and Scandinavia .
Tickets for the + – = ÷ x Tour , otherwise known as the Mathematics Tour , went on sale on 25 September and sold so strongly that new stadium dates were swiftly added , including fourth and fifth dates at the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium , a second show at Belfast ’ s Boucher Road Playing Fields ( cap . 42,000 ) and a third at Manchester ’ s Etihad Stadium ( 63,000 ).
In total , the UK leg of the 2022 tour alone will involve no less than 19 stadium dates . It will commence on 12 May in Belfast and close on 1 July with a Wembley Stadium gig . At a time when the
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