Ed Sheeran speaks to TimeOut on his record-breaking NZ tour in 2018. Video / NZ Herald
Wet weather couldn't dampen the spirits of the 47,000 fans who showed up to Ed Sheeran's opening show in Auckland on last night.
Big cheers erupted as the star took to the stage at Mt Smart Stadium for the first of three Auckland shows.
The British pop-star from Framlingham, Suffolkplayed a two-hour set with little of the theatrics that can typically fill the concert backdrop, as fans huddled in multi-coloured ponchos.
Earlier fans battled to reach the stadium in the southern Auckland suburb of Penrose, as at times atrocious weather and two crashes snarled up the Northern and Southern Motorways.
But that was soon forgotten as the 27-year-old singing sensation opened with Castle on the Hill and continued with the set list seen by most fans on his recent tour.
Twenty-five people representing different iwi greeted the star ahead of the first of his six-show tour.
At the powhiri Sheeran presented a signed album to the group with a smile.
"Here's this, I don't know if you want it or not," he said.
Congratulated on his recent engagement to Cherry Seaborn, he said marriage wouldn't stop him touring, but eventual-school age kids would cut the number.
Ed Sheeran performing in Melbourne this month. File photo / Sam Tabone / WireImage
His last record, Divide, was the biggest selling album of 2017.
All three Auckland shows are sold out, with over 140,000 people expected to flock to hear the troubadour strum and sing.
The tour, which finishes with three shows in Dunedin, has been touted as the biggest show we've ever had.
