{"id":442924,"date":"2026-01-28T12:47:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442924\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T12:47:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:47:13","slug":"ed-sheeran-perth-show-why-singer-isnt-expected-to-break-his-own-optus-stadium-attendance-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442924\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran Perth show: Why singer isn\u2019t expected to break his own Optus Stadium attendance record"},"content":{"rendered":"

English pop star<\/a> Ed Sheeran is heading back to Perth<\/a> this weekend for his first shows at Optus Stadium in three years, but his tour company does not expect the star to break his own lofty attendance record set during his last visit.<\/p>\n

Sheeran claimed the State<\/a>\u2019s ticketed event record on March 12, 2023 when a whopping 73,092 fans flooded the Optus Stadium gates to see him live for his sole local performance that year.<\/p>\n

The Shape of You singer will launch the Australian<\/a> leg of his Loop Tour in Perth on Saturday, with Frontier Touring projecting each of his Saturday and Sunday night performances to draw crowds upwards of 55,000, or 110,000 in total.<\/p>\n

By comparison, AC\/DC\u2019s two Perth outings in December last year tipped 97,000 overall.<\/p>\n

PerthNow understands Sheeran\u2019s decision to host two back-to-back shows instead of one mega performance akin to March 2023 does not reflect a lack of interest in the star, but rather an evolution of his stage configuration.<\/p>\n

\"EdCamera IconEd Sheeran at Optus Stadium in Perth. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

Sheeran\u2019s historic show at Optus Stadium \u2014 his final outing in Australia for The Mathematics Tour three years ago\u2014 featured an in-the-round stage which offered fans a 360-degree view of the talent.<\/p>\n

It was also, importantly, their only chance to see him perform in Perth during that tour.<\/p>\n

The centralised stage configuration allowed for greater total attendance, with the overall size of the general admission floor extended and therefore accessible to more patrons.<\/p>\n

As seen in his New Zealand shows, he is expected to return to a more regular, front-facing setup.<\/p>\n

\"ChrisCamera IconChris Martin of Coldplay performs on stage at Optus Stadium on November 18, 2023 in Perth. Credit: Paul Kane\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Photos taken from above Optus Stadium on Wednesday morning reveal early progress of the performer\u2019s stage ahead of the weekend.<\/p>\n

Sheeran\u2019s closest local attendance competition \u2014 Coldplay\u2019s Music of the Spheres performances in 2023 \u2014 racked up 65,562 and 66,458 on November 18 and 19 respectively.<\/p>\n

Along with drawing the most fans ever to a single ticketed gig in WA, the 34-year-old bears the honour of hosting the first ever concert at Optus Stadium, hosting more than 58,000 at the venue in March 2018.<\/p>\n

Unlike AC\/DC, or fellow rock powerhouse Metallica who played in Perth on November 1 last year, Sheeran will not be opening a pop-up merch store for fans.<\/p>\n

However, there will be paraphernalia sold within the Optus Stadium precinct during performance days.<\/p>\n

Showcasing his eighth studio album Play, released in September 2025, the Brit will perform singles Azizam, A little More, and Old Phone live in WA for the first time.<\/p>\n

He will be supported locally by Aussie artists Vance Joy and Mia Wray, as well Irish all-female group BIIRD.<\/p>\n

Following a busy weekend in Perth, Sheeran will perform three shows in each of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, concluding his Aussie tour with a single performance in Adelaide on March 5.<\/p>\n

\"OptusCamera IconOptus Stadium setting up for Ed Sheeran\u2019s concert. Credit: Andrew Ritchie\/The West Australian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"English pop star Ed Sheeran is heading back to Perth this weekend for his first shows at Optus…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134,136,46,45],"class_list":["post-442924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-perth","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}