Ed Sheeran to Play in Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan

The country that pioneered the concept of Gross National Happiness is to welcome Sheeran for the country's first ever international gig.

Ed Sheeran has announced that he’s taking his 'Mathematics Tour' to Bhutan early next year. The tour, formally named the +–=÷x Tour, includes a notable stop in Bhutan’s capital of Thimphu on 24 January 2025 - which will be the first major international concert to be held in the country, according to a press release announcing the concert.

Tickets went on sale last weekend, with the cheapest tickets priced at 860 Bhutanese ngultrum ($10) - and they have already sold out. Other tickets for the concert at Thimpu’s Changlimithang Stadium are priced at $30, $50, $70 and $100. The average price for an Ed Sheeran concert ticket is $167, according to the user ranking website Ranker.com

International attendees will have to obtain a visa to enter Bhutan ($40) and pay the country’s Sustainable Development Fee while visiting, which is currently set at $100 for adults and $50 for children aged six to 12. The fee is assessed per person per day, and is “used to protect our natural environment, to provide free education and free health care to our citizens,” says Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.

Bhutan is currently just one of seven countries that gets all its electricity from renewables. Also, since 1971, Bhutan has rejected GDP as the only way to measure progress. In its place, it has championed a new approach to development, which measures prosperity through formal principles of Gross National Happiness (GNH) and the spiritual, physical, social and environmental health of its citizens and natural environment.

After performing in Thimphu, Sheeran will play six shows in February in India, followed by shows in Qatar and Bahrain. Sheeran launched the Mathematics Tour in 2022 and has performed 134 shows to date. The tour is scheduled to end in 2025.

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