I fly to Düsseldorf all the time just to transfer to the train that takes me to Oliver in Cologne. This time, though, we actually had business in Düsseldorf, a concert with Ed Sheeran. Our plan was simple: base ourselves in Cologne and catch up with our friend Carina along the way to Düsseldorf. I’d seen Ed Sheeran before (in Gothenburg in 2018 and 2022), but for Oliver it was the very first time.
After a lazy morning we met up with Carina at Köln Hauptbahnhof to catch the regional train to Düsseldorf. Carina and Oliver used their Deutschlandticket, while I had downloaded an ÖPVN-ticket from Eventim’s website. It’s a service in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn that gives you free public transport to and from the concert. Already upon arriving in Düsseldorf we could tell how well organised everything was. Staff from the Ordnungsdienst were stationed at the main station and at every stop along the way to the stadium, making sure everything ran smoothly.
The organisation after the concert was just as smooth. We were guided out of the stadium through marked “corridors” with strips, which kept everyone moving calmly and without stress. At the station, trains were already lined up waiting for us and within minutes we were back at the main station. Honestly, it was one of the best post-concert exits I’ve ever experienced. Talk about German efficiency (Although Hockenheim could definitely take a few notes from Düsseldorf).
Carina had already spotted a Biergarten on the map, so once we arrived at the stadium we headed straight there. It was set up on a field just outside and turned out to be the perfect spot to hang out before the concert. The weather was beautiful, the sun warm on our faces, and I couldn’t help thinking this was our last outdoor concert of the year. Better soak up every ray of sunshine. who knows when I’ll see it again, living in Sweden and all 😉.
A DJ was playing music, some Ed Sheeran but also plenty of other songs, and behind him hung posters of different artists. We saw Harry Styles, Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode, Chris Martin from Coldplay and then…a familiar face, Bruce Springsteen! Of course I had to take a picture.
We tried the local Altbier together with a Krakauer sausage, a simple but perfect pre-concert treat. Our friends Waldemar and Irina also stopped by and it was lovely to see them again. They’re always so friendly and cheerful. Since they had seats, we parted ways at admission but later we spotted them up in the stands.
The stage was placed right in the middle of the stadium. It was a large circular platform with a moving belt around it that Sheeran and his guests could walk on. Hanging above was a huge cylindrical screen, showing animations, album artwork, and visuals that shifted with each song.
Before Sheeran came on, the audience was warmed up by two support acts. Tori Kelly opened the evening, though her set felt a little flat, with many still finding their seats. She later returned to the stage for a duet with Sheeran on I Was Made for Loving You. The second act, Myles Smith, closed his energetic set with his best-known song Stargazing, which got the crowd going.
At 20:05 the giant screen above the stage began to lower and a timer counted down from ten minutes. When only ten seconds remained, the entire stadium joined in the countdown. Ed Sheeran appeared in a simple outfit of black trousers and a black T-shirt, with “Düsseldorf” printed in the colorful style of his Mathematics Tour branding.
He started off with a guitar solo, layering beats with his loop pedal. That’s really his trademark. He’s using the loop-pedals to build the songs live, piece by piece, while still being able to move around and interact with the crowd. Once he got going, he launched into Castle on the Hill and the whole stadium sang along. Later each track had its own visuals: butterflies flying across the screen, bright backdrops or graphics tied to his album artwork.
Towards the end the giant cylindrical screen slowly descended and temporarily hid Sheeran from view. We were cheering for an encore and when it lifted the encore began and fireworks shot into the sky while flames burst from the stage and the surrounding columns, turning the finale into a real spectacle. By then we’d moved closer to one of the exits, and Carina had rejoined us after spending part of the evening with other friends.
Back in 2018 I wrote that the loop-pedals intrigued me the most and that it was fascinating to watch him build a song live on stage, layer by layer, but I also wondered whether the show might have been even stronger with a band behind him.
This time he actually did bring musicians. They joined him for the opening song and later returned for a medley of nine songs in the middle of the set. Positioned off to the side by the columns, they were easy to overlook until he pointed them out. Having real musicians on stage could have felt refreshing but their presence remained surprisingly subtle, almost as if they weren’t meant to take up too much space or attention.
One exception was during the song Galway Girl, when the female backing singer and fiddle player stole the spotlight. She ran around the belt circling the stage while playing her fiddle, as the Galway Girl, and it gave the song a playful spark. Toward the end, Ed Sheeran’s loop-pedal numbers started to feel a bit repetitive, but I really appreciated the moments in between when he talked to the audience.
Afterwards Carina, Oliver and I agreed it was a nice show. We’re not really into the genre, but we appreciated how well put together it was. At times it was tricky to actually spot Sheeran on stage as he kept moving around the circular belt, especially for Carina and me, who are both a bit shorter than Oliver. Waldemar and Irina, who are bigger fans and have seen him more times, were less impressed. They felt that Sheeran seemed a little tired and low on energy, with Irina adding that he had just gone through the first half of the concert without really being into it, only getting fully involved in the second half. From their seats, the sound also wasn’t all that great.
Since we skipped sight-seeing in Düsseldorf before the show, Sunday became our chance to slow down and enjoy Cologne before I had to head to the airport. We had breakfast outside in the sunshine and then wandered through Köln-Ehrenfeld. I always end up scanning the walls for Sweetsnini tiles, and this time I spotted five of them! Sweetsnini is a Cologne-based tile artist whose little “Ninis” characters have been appearing around the city since 2016, often with witty or pointed remarks about current events. Her hand-drawn tiles have spread to Hamburg and Berlin as well, but Ehrenfeld is her home turf. When walking there I make a habit of treasure hunting for the tiles and I recommend everyone who visits to do the same. Her artwork can also be found in the Urbanshit-gallery
Setlist
- Castle on the Hill
- Blow
- Shivers
- The A Team
- Don’t
- Sapphire
- Eyes Closed
- Give Me Love
- I Was Mad For Loving You (with Tori Kelly)
- Boat
- Take Me Back to London/River/Cross Me/Peru/Beautiful People/South of the Border/Own It/2Step/I Don’t Care
- Celestial
- Galway Girl
- Thinking Out Loud
- Love Yourself
- I See Fire
- Old Phone
- Afire Love
- One/Photograph
- Perfect
- Bloodstream
- Afterglow
Encore
- You Need Me, I Dont’t Need You
- Azizam
- Shape of You
- Bad Habits
Stray Bullet 
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