Beyond Sheeran’s +—=÷x (Mathematics) stadium world tour’s $268 million gross in 54 shows*, the real mathematical feat is the engineering behind the stage design. Production & Lighting Designer Mark Cunniffe explained, “I have always wanted to put Ed in the round, but it requires a different discipline. I have a problem with shows with structural pillars, so I went away and looked at how we could avoid the obstructions with a design that had never been done before.” The unprecedented open design has no roof but a large circular video screen over the revolving stage and six mammoth masts held in place by a cable net system. This major feat was engineered by Jeremy Lloyd of Wonderworks and Rasti Bartek of Cundall.
*The Top Tours of 2023 List order and grosses were sourced from Pollstar (www.pollstar.com) and Billboard (www.billboard.com). Data is from Nov. 17, 2022 to Nov. 15, 2023 (Pollstar) and Nov. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023 (Billboard).
