Matt Gudinski

BRISBANE, Australia — Ed Sheeran’s current stadium tour of Australia is now a record-setter, smashing the attendance mark at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The English singer and songwriter enters the history books by selling more than 107,000 tickets for his concert Friday night (March 3) at the MCG, according to Frontier Touring, which is producing the domestic leg of his + – = ÷ x Tour.

There’s a chance he can break it again. Sheeran will also play the 170-year-old venue on Thursday night, for which he has sold more than 100,000 tickets with a final batch now up for sale.

“Ed loves to break a record and he’s smashed this one,” comments Matt Gudinski, CEO of Mushroom Group, parent of Frontier Touring. “It’s phenomenal that more than 200,000 people will see this amazing show at our iconic MCG. Melbourne is set for two incredibly special nights with one of the greatest performers ever.”

The MCG is hallowed turf, a multi-purpose space that has hosted countless sporting matches and concerts since it was constructed on its current site in 1853.

The G, as it’s affectionately known here, hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1956 Olympic Games, it’s the spiritual home of AFL, a Test cricket ground, and its presented concerts by the biggest names in music, from David Bowie to U2, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, Madonna and many others.

Every stadium act is looking for a unique stage configuration. #EdSheeran nails it with his Lazy Susan setup, his bandmates isolated at four points. Birthday bloke gave us a sweet moment Friday night with his tribute to MG, “Visiting Hours.” Many sniffles where we was stood… pic.twitter.com/krbPByxLLO— Lars Brandle (@larsbrandle) February 18, 2023

Sheeran and Gudinski celebrated the achievement with a toast to the company’s founder, the late Michael Gudinski, father of Matt Gudinski. The pair flanked the permanent statue of MG outside of Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, and shared a bottle of Penfolds.

“Toasting a 707 to the big man ahead of playing the biggest ticketed shows ever in Australian history this weekend,” writes Sheeran on his social channels.

“We miss you, you finally got me playing MCG in the round.”

When Sheeran completes his two-night stand at the MCG, his + – = ÷ x Tour of Australia and New Zealand moves on to Adelaide Oval (March 7) and climaxes March 12 at Perth’s Optus Stadium, the final in a 12-date trans-Tasman trek.

History is often made when Sheeran and Frontier Touring team up.

When Sheeran last toured Australia with Frontier Touring, in 2018, more than 1 million tickets were sold, a feat that sunk Dire Straits’ record for a single trek (950,000) that had stood for more than 30 years. Sheeran’s Divide tour that year also set a new record of 18 stadium dates across Australia and New Zealand, beating AC/DC’s old mark (14).