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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Hip-hop, soul and R’n’B legend Mary J Blige is coming to Manchester for a massive arena show
Danny Jones
Manchester is getting ready to welcome a global icon of hip-hop, soul, pop and R’n’B as Mary J Blige is set to put on a massive arena show.
With a music career spanning more than 30 years, Mary J Blige is an absolute legend of the American music scene, with nine GRAMMY Awards and nearly 40 nominations, along with a plethora of BET, Billboard, and AMA nods over the years.
Currently on ‘The For My Fans Tour’, jetting quite literally all over and recently adding on even more dates, not only has London been given some love, but so has Greater Manchester – and rightly so.
Announcing the special one-off show and Co-op Live debut this Wednesday, 16 April, Mary J Blige won’t have to wait too long to be part of the ‘Family Affair’.
The 54-year-old from New York will be coming to the state-of-the-art, one of the biggest indoor entertainment venues in all of Europe, in just a few months’ time.
On top of the already well-established AO Arena, this is the pedigree of truly worldwide artists that Co-op Live was built to further attract – and it looks to be working.
It’s been the best part of a decade since she was last in these parts, so she’s sure to get a huge reception.
While most audiences in the likes of North America have been treated to fellow R’n’B favourite Ne-Yo, those watching Ms Blige will be keeping things domestic as long-standing London collective and producers, Soul II Soul, will be joining her for the show.
‘Back to life, back to reality…’
So there you have it! Mary J Blige will be coming to Manchester on Friday, 4 July 2025, with her own pre-sale going live at 10am on Thursday, 24 April, but Co-op members can get there even earlier, with the venue’s early access available from the same time the day before.
As for general admission, you can get ready to grab your tickets HERE from 10am on Friday, 25 April.
Fri 18 April – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley (Sean Paul, Ashanti and Big Joe)
Sat 19 April – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Sun 20 April – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
22 April – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
23 April – Brighton, UK – Brighton Centre (Sean Paul ONLY)
24 April – Bournemouth, UK – BIC (Sean Paul ONLY)
Sean Paul and Ashanti tickets for AO Arena gig
Just like Ashanti’s 2002 hit, you’d have been ‘Foolish’ not to get tickets when they first came out, however, there’s still a chance for you to ‘Get Busy’ like Sean Paul’s ‘02 throwback.
There’s a limited run of tickets left throughout the venue, including standing, seated and even an option to watch the show from ‘The Mezz’ if you’re after a VIP experience – AllHERE.
There’s no official setlist yet, however, if you consider the past selection of hits from their previous separate gigs, fans are in for a jam-packed night.
Sean Paul:
So Fine
Get Busy
Ever Blazin’
Cheap Thrills
Baby Boy
Bailando
Hot Gyal Today
Infiltrate
Breathe/ Make It Clap
Give It Up To Me
Got 2 Luv U
Mad Love
No Lie
Boasty
Love Me Ladies
Tip Pon It
Volcano
Bring It
Greatest
I’m Still In Love
Light My Fire
Punkie
Rockabye
Like Glue
Deport Them
Trumpets
She Doesn’t Mind
Temperature
Ashanti:
Happy
Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)
Mesmerise
Only U
Baby
Southside
Down 4 U
Body On Me
What’s Luv?
Ain’t It Funny
Always On Time
Foolish
What are the stage times for Sean Paul and Ashanti in Manchester?
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm; anyone attending this link-up of a lifetime can enjoy their night knowing they’ll be ‘Ever Blazin” after a full night’s sleep.
Doors for the ‘Bring It Tour’ are scheduled for 6pm with a kick-off time of 7pm, with no confirmed or mentioned support acts as of yet.
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
Getting there by car and parking
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
Daisy Jackson -
8th June 2022 
