Ed Sheeran is set to take an extensive eighteen month break following the conclusion of his ‘Divide’ World Tour, which concluded on Monday 26. He declared his intentions of taking the extended break to the crowd at his final show in Chantry Park, Ipswich on Monday evening. He said that he planned to spend more time with his wife, Cherry Seaborn, whom he married in December of last year. The final show in his hometown of Ipswich concludes the staggering 255 show world tour, which began way back in March 2017.

“As you may or may not know, I’ve been on the Divide tour for over two years now and this is the last day of the whole thing.” the ‘Galway Girl’ singer said on stage, adding, “There is something very bittersweet about it. I love that you guys are here and we are ending it in Ipswich. This is my last gig for probably 18 months.”

He went on to say. “I was told before I came on that now at the end of this tour I’ve played to nine million people around the world. It is the biggest tour ever,”

Following the conclusion of his epic round the world tour, the numbers amassed speak for themselves. The tour has lasted for 30 months, reaching across six continents, grossing an eye watering $776.2 million, surpassing U2’s previous record of $736.4 million for their The 360° tour in 2011, with 8.9 million tickets sold.

Meanwhile, Ed’s entitlement to royalties on his track ‘Shape Of You’ were blocked in light of claims that he’d been “appropriating”, music from other artists. High Court documents reveal Sam Chokri is fighting against Sheeran amid claims that he’d sampled the chorus from his track, ‘Oh Why’. Chokri had sent the track to Ed Sheeran’s people with the hopes of working with him, to then hear the chorus on ‘Shape of You’. The track has made somewhere around £20 million in revenues, and sits as the biggest single of 2017.