Celebrity
Ed Sheeran Played A Surprise Gig At A Hobbit-Themed Pub
Perhaps he was en route to a castle on the hill?
Picture the scene, Lord Of The Rings stans: you’re innocently swigging from a goblet full of mead in the heart of the Shire, when one of the most successful musicians of all time casually rocks up with his guitar for an impromptu gig. Sounds too good to be true? Funnily enough, it’s exactly what went down when Ed Sheeran put on a surprise show at The Green Dragon Inn.
Based in the heart of New Zealand’s Hobbiton – a former Lord of the Rings film set which has been converted into a tourist hotspot – The Green Dragon Inn is an IRL pub based on the favoured boozer of short kings Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. After heading out on a guided tour of all the great Hobbit sights, fans usually end up there for a pint of cider; but this time lucky punters ended up getting treated to a rendition of Ed’s 2013 song “I See Fire” during an evening banquet. Fittingly enough, the artist wrote the track for the end credits of The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug after he was approached by Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit director Peter Jackson.
“We had an unexpected guest at The Green Dragon Inn tonight…” the pub wrote on TikTok, alongside footage of the very special performance. In the comments, they added that “there were many tears!”
Ed is currently taking “The Mathematics Tour” around New Zealand, and has already played a huge stadium show in Wellington. After two shows in Auckland, he’ll then hop over to continue the live outing in Australia – but has found time to stage a couple of surprise appearances along the way. As well as showing up unannounced at The Green Dragon, Sheeran also performed at two school assemblies in Auckland, and also was spotted in the crowd at his collaborator Fred Again…’s Wellington show by a handful of eagle-eyed fans.
