Ed Sheeran has revealed why Dunedin was one of his "top three favourite experiences" on his Divide 2018 world tour.
Speaking to The Edge radio station, Sheeran said how much he missed New Zealand, asking "what's the deal with entering now?" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Is it the same with Australia?"
"Best not to even talk about it, Ed!" host Chris Parker replied. "I would say it's a complete disaster, but we could definitely do with an Ed Sheeran boost, to be honest!"
"Oh man, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sheeran replied. "Well, the tour's planned - so I should be coming there in 2023. But that does seem like quite a long time away, doesn't it?"
Recalling his last tour of Aotearoa more than three years ago, the 'Bad Habits' hitmaker said he had a special affinity with Ōtepoti, where his visit was commemorated with a mural by artist Tyler Kennedy Stent.
"I took a selfie with it, and I love it," Sheeran said of the street art, explaining that his tour manager encouraged him to play several Dunedin shows in 2018 because it would be "an event if he went there".
"I loved Dunedin - it was probably [in the] top three of my favourite experiences on that tour because I just felt so wanted. It was this big moment for me and them and it just felt great," Sheeran said.
"Sometimes people will tour and just go 'right, Auckland, Wellington and maybe sometimes Christchurch'. But going to a town or a city that is really going to embrace the fact that you're there, I mean, it's magical."
The Grammy winner also thanked The Edge for allowing him to play his new album Equals in full on Friday morning, when they rebranded the station 'The Ed' for an hour.
"There's maybe like three or four people around the world who have been like 'Hey, do you want to play your album in full on the radio?' and you guys are one of them, so thank you so much," he said.
Referring to two singles from the record, Sheeran added: "Because I didn't make the album to be 'Bad Habits' for a month and then 'Shivers' for a month, I made the album to be listened to in full and you guys are giving me the opportunity to share with people it in full so thank you."
