Ed Sheeran confirms two New Zealand shows in Auckland and Dunedin

Ed Sheeran will play two New Zealand shows next year - and this time he's including the South Island in his tour plans.

The British pop star and Grammy Award winner has confirmed he'll perform at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday, March 24, as well as Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium on Thursday, March 29, as part of his ÷ World Tour.

They'll be his first shows here since his sell out performance at Mt Smart Stadium in December 2015.

During that show, Sheeran took to the stage wearing Jonah Lomu's No. 11 All Blacks jersey. He also performed his song I See Fire, written for Peter Jackson's 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Since then, Sheeran took time off, including a holiday in New Zealand during which he took part in a bungy jump and got a new tattoo.

He returned this year with a new album, ÷, which received mixed reviews but included several radio hits, including Galway Girl and Shape of You.

A ticket pre-sale for Frontier Members begins on May 16, with general release starting on May 23 at 1pm for the Auckland show, and 2pm for Dunedin, through Ticketmaster.