Lifestyle and Entertainment Reporter Jenni Mortimer on the death of Ozzie Osbourne, Ed Sheeran's NZ shows and Stephen Colbert's show is canned.
Global singing superstar Ed Sheeran will return to his adoptive home of New Zealand for three Kiwi stadium concerts in 2026.
The Loop Tour, which also celebrates the singer’s upcoming album Play, will touch down in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington in January next year before continuing on to Australia.
To date, the Perfect singer has sold over 2.5 million tickets to his previous shows across Australia and New Zealand, making him one of the most in-demand acts in Australasia. He’s also one of the few artists to have songs totalling over one billion streams on Spotify, with his 2017 hit Shape of Youbreaking multiple records across platforms.
Play, which features singles like Azizam, is said to be inspired by Sheeran’s love of travel and experiencing the different cultures the world has to offer.
His song I See Fire was written especially for Peter Jackson’s second Hobbit film, with the hitmaker also spotted making a pilgrimage to Hobbiton, Matamata.
During his last New Zealand visit, a technical hitch forced him to play an acoustic set at the first of his two Eden Park concerts. Despite the glitches, feedback from the tour was overwhelmingly positive, with Sheeran praised for his showmanship and good-hearted nature.
”I’m sad that I’m leaving in a couple of days,” he told the crowd at the time, revealing how New Zealand fans helped The A Team become his first big hit.
”But every time I come back here, I feel like one of your own.”
