Ed Sheeran announces first Christchurch gig in 11 years

Tuesday, 22 July 2025

Ed Sheeran is heading back to New Zealand and Australia next year for a run of stadium shows as part of his all-new Loop Tour .

Global superstar Ed Sheeran has announced new tour dates in New Zealand and Australia, including his first Christchurch gig in 11 years.

The singer songwriter, who has sold nearly 200 million records globally, will open his The Loop Tour at the GO Media Stadium in Auckland on January 16, before playing Wellington’s Sky Stadium on January 21.

His gig on January 24 is thought to be the last international concert at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch, before the opening of One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha in April.

Bringing a brand new show to his Australia and New Zealand fans, Sheeran’s stadium performances Down Under will follow the release of his new album, Play, which is available from September 12.

Sheeran’s tour will follow the September release of a new album.

The star is promising surprises, new music and his biggest hits for the tour, which will also take in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Sheeran has to date sold more than 2.5 million tickets across New Zealand and Australia, was recently celebrated as a 12-time member of Spotify’s Billions Club and is the platform’s fourth most listened-to artist in the world, having surpassed 100 million monthly listens. Apple Music recently revealed his 2017 hit Shape Of You was its most-streamed song of the last decade.

Sheeran performed a secret gig for 100 Redcliffs School pupils in 2015.

The singer-songwriter’s forthcoming new album is described as “an explorative, technicolour pop album that captures the fun, chaos, and heart of an artist reinvigorated by life and travel”.

Lead singles Azizam, Sapphire and Old Phone, have already been released and The Loop tour will centre around the new album’s sound, featuring intimate acoustic moments, Sheeran’s renowned loop pedal performances and full stadium singalongs.

Sheeran last performed in Christchurch in 2015, playing a sold-out show at the then Horncastle Arena and a secret gig for 100 pupils of Redcliffs School, after pupils won a More FM radio competition.

Years before the 2020 opening of their new post-earthquake building, quake-induced rockfall danger meant the school was based at the Van Asch Deaf Education Centre when Sheeran visited.

Sheeran, a self-proclaimed Lord of the Rings fan, contributed a song to the film soundtrack for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. During a visit to New Zealand in 2023 he performed his Hobbit soundtrack song I See Fire for tourists at the Hobbiton tourist destination in Matamata.

Sheeran performed to tourists at Hobbiton in 2023.

Venues Ōtautahi chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said having one of the world’s biggest recording artists performing in the venue’s 14th year proves what an incredible asset for the city it had been.

“I could not think of a more exceptional performer for the stadium’s final concert,” she said.

“It is a massive coup for Ōtautahi Christchurch that the temporary stadium with all its quirks, has been able to continue to host such high-quality events.”

All tour tickets will only be available via official ticketing apps, with more details at edsheeran.com or frontiertouring.com/edsheeran.

Pre-sale tickets are available next Monday, with a staggered release of New Zealand tickets taking place on Tuesday, for Wellington at 1pm, Auckland 2pm and Christchurch 4pm.