Ed Sheeran has been named an honorary co-Mayor of Ipswich, Queensland.
Ahead of three sold-out Brisbane stadium shows, Sheeran visited the nearby town to sign a mural painted by local artist Duncan Mattocks, commissioned by Warner Music Australia last September to celebrate his eighth studio album, Play.
The mural became the cornerstone of a ten-month community campaign of getting Sheeran to Ipswich, championed by the Mayor, Teresa Harding. Local businesses, schools and every-day residents rallied together to encourage Sheeran to visit their city – a local bakery even created the “Ginger-Ed” cookie, and the local pub introduced a custom beer named the “Ed Beeran Brew”.
Upon signing the mural, now celebrated as a local landmark in Ipswich, Sheeran joked: “There’s a new mayor in town.”
Indeed there is. To commemorate the special occasion, Mayor Harding presented Sheeran with the official mayoral chains of office at Suncorp Stadium, naming him as the honorary co-Mayor of Ipswich.
After presenting him, Harding said: “It was a wonderful moment to be able to thank him for noticing our city, for making the trip, and for giving Ipswich a moment we’ll be talking about for a long time.”
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Sheeran’s ‘Loop’ tour kicked off in New Zealand last month, before making its way to Perth for two shows. It continued on to Sydney and Brisbane, with final shows in Melbourne and Adelaide over the next week.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ was at the opening show of his tour in Auckland. “Sheeran has truly found his stride by embracing his humble roots — covers, song requests, and freestyle sampling – and instilling them into his existing formula. On this tour, he’s the closest to his early self as he has been in a long time — and as a result, fans have never felt closer to him,” we wrote in our five-star review.
During his Perth show, Sheeran was joined on stage by Wheatus’ Brendan B. Brown – who has also just toured Australia – to sing the classic hit “Teenage Dirtbag”. Videos shared on social media showed the two artists smiling and performing together, blending Sheeran’s signature loop-pedal style with the nostalgic rock energy of the original performance.
Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne have each been treated to pop-up stores in line with tour dates, which stock a selection of Sheeran’s music on vinyl alongside ‘Loop’ tour merch and exclusive designs by artists Cole Poska, Jeremy Dean, and Brodie Kaman.
Each day, the first 100 attendees upon store opening have had the opportunity to secure a limited edition poster. These prints have changed everyday and are exclusive to the three pop-up locations.
