Ed Sheeran has made history as the first international artist to perform in Bhutan.
The ‘Bad Habits’ hitmaker hailed it “an honour” to perform at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu on Friday (24.01.25) and praised the “incredible” fans from the South Asian country who had turned out to see him play and made him and his team feel so welcome.
He shared a video on Instagram on Saturday (25.01.25), which was captioned: “Had the honour to be the first ever international artist to play Bhutan last night. what a gig, what a country, what a beautiful place with incredible people. lemme know if i can move there, please and thank you.
“and also thank you so much for welcoming me and my touring crew, and for every volunteer who helped put on such a historic show. hopefully see you again soon ! (sic)”
In the video, Ed reflected on how “mad” it was to be breaking a record.
Standing by the stage set-up, he reflected: “It’s mad that this is the first international concert here. I hope that there’s many more to come.”
The 33-year-old singer had been welcomed to the country by King Jigme Khesar and Queen Jetsun Pema.
He added: “I went for dinner with the king and queen yesterday and they said, ‘We just want people coming to the country that want to love and respect the country and understand the ideals.’
“Yeah, I feel super honored that I was chosen and I can’t wait to play. This is like such my jam.”
The video then cut to footage from the concert, with the ‘Castle on the Hill’ singer telling the audience how proud he felt to perform for them.
He said: “I’ve been all around the world, been to some amazing places, but I’ve never done anything like this before.
“To be able to visit a country like Bhutan, to be able to stand onstage and bring this show here. I can remember playing to an empty room and now I get to play the first international concert in Bhutan — ever.”