Ed Sheeran has surprised fans by announcing a new UK and European arena tour set to begin later this month.
The British singer-songwriter announced the tour alongside news of his new album, Subtract, which will be his fifth to date.
Sheeran will be performing in Manchester, London, Glasgow and Dublin as part of the tour, with a one-off show in Paris in April also scheduled.
When do tickets go on sale?
Demand is expected to be huge. Tickets will go on general sale here on Friday, March 10 at 9am. However, fans can register to gain access to the ticket pre-sale on Sheeran’s website here.
Fans can also pre-order the new album on Sheeran’s website.
Where is Ed Sheeran playing?
Sheeran has been touring around Australia, but on Wednesday released details of his new UK and European dates.
He will be playing the following dates:
March
Thursday 23 – Manchester, AO Arena
Friday 24 – London, The O2
Saturday 25 – London, The O2
Tuesday 28– Glasgow, Hydro Arena
Thursday 30 – Dublin, 3Arena
April
Sunday 2 – Paris, Accor Arena
These are Sheeran’s only scheduled UK and European shows for 2023.
What is the new album?
Subtract is a follow-up to Sheeran’s 2021 album =.
Sheeran said he “had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be”.
He added: “Then, at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.”
What happened?
Sheeran had previously kept quiet about his personal struggles.
However, he recently revealed he’d been struggling. He said this was why he had been relatively quiet on social media.
Sheeran went a step further on Wednesday when he explained how he spiralled into depression last year.
He said: “Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife [Cherry] got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal Edwards, a brother to me, died suddenly [aged 31] and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety.
“I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.
“Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.”
