Ed Sheeran: Bird’s eye view of one of the weirdest stages in Belfast gig history

The unusual rotunda-style design, like an elaborate bandstand, was filmed by drone enthusiasts before the crowds arrived this evening for the English singer-songwriter’s scheduled 8pm performance.

The video screen in the centre shows a number of images of Sheeran on stage, almost guaranteeing a view from wherever fans happen to be standing.

This short clip has been used by kind permission of Droning_about_Ireland (@REDKN1GHT19), who runs a YouTube channel of other startling imagery from across the island.

The number of fans flocking to the playing fields for the back-to-back gigs (one tonight, another tomorrow) is estimated to be roughly 80,000.

To put that into some context, that is very slightly less than the entire population of the city of Londonderry.

Or to put it another way, it is roughly the equivalent of all the residents of Newtownards assembled together, multiplied by three.

After that, Ed heads off to Cardiff – for a triple-nighter, again back-to-back, later this month.

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Baltic Exchange bomb: Portrait of a family devastated by IRA bloodbath that claimed three lives

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Sean Graham slayings: Murder spree set in motion the deaths of two UDA figures years later

Sean Graham Massacre & Troubles death toll: By the early ‘90s loyalists began to out-murder republicans for the first time