“I’ve never seen a tour like Ed’s”: Divide smashes records

The Australasian leg of Ed Sheeran’s massive ÷ world tour, due to kick off tonight at the 60,000-seat Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia, has surpassed one million ticket sales, promoter Frontier Touring has revealed.

The ÷ (Divide) tour, which began in Italy in March 2017, is entering its sixth leg (of nine), after having already visited Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia. Passing the 1m mark for the 18-date Australia/New Zealand trek puts Sheeran ahead of Dire Straits for the most tickets sold (in Mark Knopfler and co’s case, 950,000) on one tour of the continent – a record unbroken since 1986.

In addition to breaking the record for highest ticket sales, the seven-city stadium tour holds the venue record for most number of shows on one tour (Optus Stadium, Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane and Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin); the venue record for highest cumulative attendance on one tour (Optus Stadium, ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Etihad Stadium, Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, Suncorp Stadium and Forsyth Barr Stadium); and the venue record for highest attendance for a single show (Optus Stadium, Suncorp Stadium, Mt Smart Stadium and Forsyth Barr Stadium).

“He’s smashed this one out of the park”

“Frontier has toured some of the biggest names in music, including Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones, but I’ve never seen a tour like Ed’s,” says Frontier Touring’s Michael Gudinski. “To sell one million tickets is simply phenomenal.

“Frontier has toured Ed from the beginning – from small theatres through to multiple stadiums – and his outstanding work ethic, talent, passion and dedication to his fans has produced this incredible result. He is truly gifted. Since I’ve got to know Ed I’ve discovered his fondness for breaking records and I can absolutely say he’s smashed this one out of the park and I’m very proud Frontier Touring has been a big part of it.”

Sales for the British leg were equally successful, with promoters DHP Family, AEG Presents and Kilimanjaro Live shifting more than 1m tickets to 19 UK shows this summer.

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