£3.4K TO MEET ED
Star’s ‘greet’ deals twice as expensive as Britney’s
ED Sheeran fans are paying up to £3,400 to shake his hand and grab a backstage selfie on his world tour.
The astonishing fee is almost double what pop babe Britney Spears charges.
She demands £1,900 for meet-andgreets after her Piece of Me shows at Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas, where she has sold more than £75million in tickets in four years.
Other megastars including Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Madonna and even Beyoncé and Lady Gaga all charge less – in some cases considerably less – to let their most loyal followers get upclose and personal.
Now some fans reckon Ed – who last night performed the final gig of the US leg of his tour at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville – should reward their loyalty by reducing the cost of their once-in-alifetime encounters with him.
The VIP packages on offer vary from venue to venue, but after one of the singer’s three recent gigs at LA’s Staples Center, disgruntled follower Jessica A posted: “Amazing concert, amazingly poor VIP experience.
“Primo seats great, but limo ride from hotel lasted ten minutes, lavish buffet turned out to be sandwiches and beer and no-one I saw got more than 20 seconds or so with Ed.
“Big bucks for very little.”
After another performance month in Washington DC, one upset concertgoer wrote on a fan forum: “Ed is the best live act I’ve ever last seen but all his expensive add-ons suck the big one.”
Ed has been ranked No.1 in a chart of stars offering the most expensive concert packages.
The survey was carried out by a US TV cable network for a show due to air this month. It reveals just how much money many stars are making on top of the huge amounts they are raking in from live performances.
A US spokesman for 26-year-old Shape of You singer Ed said: “Local promoters usually organise the paidfor guest packages, along with hiring limos, organising catering and providing chaperones to ensure everything runs smoothly.”
On an earlier tour, Ed said in an interview: “I’ve been doing meet-andgreet signings after every gig and it’s been about two or three hundred people backstage every time.
“So for me, in a new country, having two or three hundred people who bought a CD and want to say ‘Hi’ is very
special.”