A Man, A Guitar and One Million Fans: How Ed Sheeran's Australian Stadium Tour Stopped A Nation

He came, we saw and Ed Sheeran most certainly conquered. The UK singer's history-making Australian run wrapped up in Brisbane last night and while there might have been a few hiccups, Sheeran delighted one million Aussies with no more than a guitar, a loop station and his trademark voice.

Here’s a recap to cure all those suffering from Sheeran withdrawals.

Perth

Before the Galway Girl singer had even hit our shores there was controversy surrounding scalpers with tickets going for as much as $3,500 on sites like Viagogo.

This didn’t stop Sheeran from shifting a mind-boggling one million tickets to his Australian and New Zealand tour, landing him in the history books for the most tickets sold on one AU/NZ tour.

Before his sell-out Perth shows, the singer sat down with the media to chat about tattoos, his favourite Aussie musos and how he feels about playing stadium shows.

Turns out there was nothing to worry about as Sheeran delivered “Australia’s most intimate stadium gig ever,” in his debut Perth concert.

“The acoustics of the new venue held up remarkably well, complimenting Sheeran's sound while elevating the crowds' collective voice in 2011 hit The A Team, creating a truly intimate and emotional experience. At times, it was easy to forget you were in such a mammoth outdoor venue with 60,000 people.”

The singer even remained composed when a random punter wandered onstage, only to be wrestled offstage by security.

Read the full review here.

Melbourne

Despite the fact that the extreme heat inside Etihad stadium caused some punters to pass out during the gig, Sheeran pulled off another masterpiece in Melbourne.

“As he strides towards a big finish, he strums his guitar so ferociously that the strings are just about to break. Tonight we witnessed Sheeran at the top of his game and he shows no sign of losing momentum anytime soon.”

Read the full review here.

The musician then treated 1.000 lucky fans to an intimate performance the iconic Hosier Laneway.

Sydney

Sheeran went to Sydney on a high, smashing another long-held record for most number of fans event to attend a stadium music event in NSW. 225,000 Sydney fans saw Sheeran slam through his extensive catalogue of hits.

“Sheeran's musical ability is incredible, to the point that it's easy to forget that it's just one guy, a guitar, a voice and a looping station on stage. There's a damn good reason he's filling stadiums and breaking Australian capacity records, and that was certainly on show.”

Read the full review here.

Brisbane

The scalping issues came to a head in Brisbane when a local man was arrested for selling fraudulent tickets.

Sheeran dazzled Brisso crowds almost enough to make them forget about the scheduled trackwork the had some punters waiting three hours for a bus home.

“Having been on this tour since March last year, you'd expect him to be waning but Sheeran seems to be forever grateful to the fans that have put him where he is today, promising to give the crowd 110 himself.”

Read the full review here.

After breaking records and entertaining one million Aussies, Sheeran ended his final Australian show in Brisbane on a high note by bringing out tour support and national treasure Missy Higgins for a special duet.