Ed Sheeran - Loop Tour - 15th Feb 2026
I had the privilege of attending Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour concert at Accor Stadium, Sydney on the 15th Feb 2026. I've been a huge fan of Ed since 2011 when I first heard 'The A Team'.
I got Front General Admission (Standing) tickets. I arrived at Olympic Park at about 3:15 PM and got into the queue at my gate at about 3:30 PM. I was pretty close to the front. One of the disappointing aspects is that concert goers aren't allowed to bring any water bottles in. So I had to leave my bottle near the side of the standing area before making my way to the front.
I ended up near the centre of the front stage, about 3 'rows' back. I'd packed some muesli bars and a sandwich from Coles. When you are standing at a concert, you have to balance hydration with having to go to the bathroom! If you move from there, you won't get your place back.
There was a Red Frogs crew handing out cups of water to people on the floor to ensure that the crowd stayed hydrated.
The concert started at about 5 with the first opening act - Aaron Rowe. He's a young Irish lad and played many of his songs with a violinist accompanying him. He played all his songs on an Acoustic Guitar and I really enjoyed his tracks, especially 'Hey Ma'.
The next supporting act to perform was Melbourne Artist Mia Wray. She played with an emergetic band also also played an emotional piece solo on an Electric Piano. She's got a great voice and commanded a fantastic stage presence.
The final supporting act to perform was Vance Joy. He played several of his hits including "Mess is Mine", and "Saturday Sun" His band included a trumpet player and saxophonist and each of them had a chance to play a solo piece during a song. He knows how to get the crowd going and everyone's voices had well and truly warmed up by then. He finished off his set by playing his most well known hit, "Riptide". I felt like I had already lost my voice before the main set came on!
Finally it was time for Ed to come on. Before he started, a video came up on the big screen, talking about how Ed came from humble beginnings and worked hard to get where he was. He played to empty pubs and busked around London for many years. He persevered and worked at his craft to get good.
Ed came out onto the middle small stage and started his set with "You Need Me, I Don't Need You", one of his early 'rap' songs. I knew most of the words to this song and sung along. Being vertically challenged, I struggled to see him. However, a retractable bridge lifted up out of the main stage and crawled over to the middle stage. He soon walked across the bridge whilst still performing and I got a great view of Ed as he walked across. I also had a great view of Ed whilst he performed on the main stage.
Before some of his songs, he told the audience the story behind them. For example, "The City" was written while he was living above a busy pub in London. He also talked about how if he didn't make it as a singer, he planned that a fallback option would be a songwriter for other artists. He played a medley of tracks he had written for other artists including Justin Bieber (Love Yourself) and Anne Marie (2002).
In addition to the retractable bridge, there were also pyrotechnics that were timed perfectly to the beat. Being close to the front, I could feel the heat! It was an incredible atmosphere.
As you can see from the title photo, he also performed 'Galway Girl' and 'Nancy Mulligan' with Beoga, an Irish band. They're the band he performed those original tracks with from his Divide album! The band were exceptional, especially the fiddle player. It was a nice change from the solo performance and the loop pedal that Ed used for most of his performance.
He also played 'Perfect' and 'Thinking Out Loud', 2 love songs that he said he would always include in his set lists. People have had those songs be part of really important moments in their life, such as songs they walked down the aisle to or had their first dance to.
Overall, he played about 30 songs. It is incredible how he is able to do that 3 nights in a row. He plays with such energy, class and musicality. By the end of Ed's 3 hour set, my voice was quite sore after singing along loudly. I had an incredible time.
Rating - ★★★★★ (5/5)