Ed Sheeran is about to embark on an enormous four-night stint at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium.
The hugely popular singer-songwriter will take to the stage for the first time on Thursday 9 June, and will perform every evening until Sunday night.
The four-night run is part of the Mathematics Tour, with Ed heading on to Glasgow and then to perform five shows at the Wembley Stadium in Glasgow.
It follows the release of his fourth studio album Equals, released last autumn.
This will be the first time Ed has performed in the city since May 2018 when he again completed four nights at the Etihad Stadium.
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With a capacity of a whopping 60,000 per night for music concerts, there’ll be a lot of people heading to see Ed Sheeran this weekend.
Here’s what you need to know.
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How to get to the Etihad Stadium
There’s a lot of travel advice out there this weekend, especially if you’re heading to Ed’s gig on Saturday night (when The Killer, Alicia Keys and Parklife are all taking place at once at other venues).
The roads are expected to be busy so gig-goers are urged to leave their cars at home and use public transport where possible.
Metrolink trams take less than 10 minutes to run between the city centre and the Etihad Campus stop.
Sunday 12 June – Level 1 unreserved seating and pitch standing, £82.50; limited single seats in reserved seating, £82.50.
You can also pick up tickets through resale sites, though you should only pay face value for these through official websites like Ticketmaster’s fan-to-fan resale service.
Who is supporting?
Maisie Peters
Credit: Facebook, Maisie Peters
Maisie Peters’ career launched on YouTube, before she signed with Atlantic Records and began her rise to stardom.
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Her debut album, You Signed Up For This, was released under Ed Sheeran’s label Gingerbread Man Records.
She’s racked up more than half a billion streams online for her singles, including Worst of You, Favourite Ex, and Place We Were Made.
Dylan
Credit: Facebook, DYLAN
Ed Sheeran has recruited a fellow Suffolk musician to join him on tour, in 22-year-old Dylan.
This up-and-coming indie-pop musician recently released her third EP, No Romeo.
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She’ll head out on her own tour this autumn, with gigs at Manchester’s Gorilla and similar venues right across the UK.
What are the stage times?
❤️🤍 SIXTY THOUSAND ❤️🤍
Tonight has set a record for the highest-ever attended concert in the North East 🤩🎶
Ed Sheeran will perform at the Etihad this week. Credit: Dan Martensen
This tour of Ed Sheeran’s has gone digital, which means your phone will act as your ticket.
Make sure to check your booking confirmation in plenty of time to see what you need to download and have ready.
Ed’s website states: “To gain access to the concert you are required to bring your fully charged mobile phone or smartphone. You will be required to produce a valid form of photo ID that matches the name on the tickets.
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“Accepted forms of Photo ID are – A current driver’s licence (including provisional licence), a current or recently expired passport (provided the picture is a good resemblance of the holder).”
Featured image: Publicity picture
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Manchester Cathedral to host charity Christmas carols service to raise money for local NHS hospitals
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Cathedral will be hosting a charity Christmas carols service to raise money for our local NHS hospitals.
Organised by Manchester NHS Foundation Trust Charity and now in its twelfth year, Christmas Carols in the City will take place in the spectacular surroundings of Manchester Cathedral in a couple of weeks time, and it’s sounding set to be an enchanting experience for the whole family to be involved with this festive season.
The Grade I-listed Manchester Cathedral is one of our city’s most unique buildings, with the Gothic architecture truly being a thing to behold.
Christmas Carols in the City is being described as a ‘great way’ to start the festive season in style.
Hosted by Hits Radio’s Mike Toolan and sponsored by PG Tips, performances on the night will come from local Manchester choirs.
The event is family-friendly and festive fun for everyone, all while raising funds for the Foundation Trust’s family of NHS Manchester hospitals.
Every penny raised from this year’s event will help to build and run a MediCinema on the Oxford Road hospital campus, which will aim to bring the ‘therapeutic magic of the movies’ to patients of all ages cared for by hospitals such as Manchester Royal Infirmary, Saint Mary’s Hospital, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Manchester Cathedral is hosting a charity Christmas carols service to raise money for our local NHS hospitals / Credit: Supplied
With room for wheelchairs, hospital beds, and medical equipment, and supported by dedicated nurses and trained volunteers, the new MediCinema will offer 260 screenings a year of the latest releases, alongside much loved film favourites.
In recognition of the MediCinema Appeal, Christmas Carols in the City will feature some much-loved Christmas movie classics at this year’s concert too.
Christmas Carols in the City will return to Manchester Cathedral for 2025 on Tuesday 11 December, with doors opening from 7pm and tickets now on sale.
Tickets cost £16 for adults and £10 for concessions, and you can get them here.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Childish Gambino confirms shock stroke that caused him to cancel his world tour
Danny Jones
Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish Gambino, has revealed that a stroke caused the cancellation of his Manchester gig and the rest of the shows on his world tour last year.
The multi-talented artist, actor, comedian, writer, filmmaker and jack-of-all-trades, who goes by the Gambino moniker in the music world, was scheduled to play a UK leg as part of his globetrotting series of live dates in 2024.
However, just over a month into the run, which kicked off in August, the 42-year-old musician didn’t just postpone the tour but had to cancel it altogether for the foreseeable future after falling ill on stage.
It has now been confirmed that the reason for this was a stroke, and also a serious problem with his heart, which required surgery.
At the time, he could only confirm an unknown ‘ailment’.
Detailing the incident to a crowd while playing at fellow rapper Tyler, the Creator‘s Camp Flog Gnaw festival this past weekend, ‘Gambino’ delivered the shocking news in a very matter-of-fact manner.
Confirming the stroke and a hole in his heart live to the LA audience on Saturday, 22 November, Glover began by stating that he was having a really good time on the tour, before adding: “I had a really bad pain in my head in Louisiana, and I did the show anyway.”
“I couldn’t really see well”, he continued, “so when we went to Houston, I went to the hospital and the doctor was like, ‘You had a stroke.'” Yep, as simple as that.
He even went on to joke that he was copying fellow actor and singer Jamie Foxx, who also suffered a stroke back in 2023, which presented as a bad headache – one of several sudden signs of a hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke.
You can see the clip down below.
Childish Gambino reveals that he had a stroke and a hole was found in his heart and is why he had to stop his tour pic.twitter.com/YxeQYBWDBA
After visiting the hospital, it was then discovered that he had a hole in his heart, sometimes referred to as a septal defect.
The Stone Mountain-raised musician ended up needing two procedures to fix the problem and is now, thankfully, in good health and able to perform live once again.
Nevertheless, he’s not taking anything for granted after the severe health scare, telling fans on the night: “They say everybody has two lives and the second life starts when you realise you have one; you got one life, guys, and I gotta be honest, the life I’ve lived with you guys has been such a blessing,” he told fans.
His Manchester show at the AO Arena is still yet to be rescheduled, as are any of his UK dates, but we’re glad he’s not only back on the mend but back doing what he does best.
Daisy Jackson -
8th June 2022 
