Ed Sheeran - Ed Sheeran Invites Big Issue Sellers To Sydney Gig

The A Team hitmaker is a longtime supporter of the Big Issue, a magazine sold on streets by those in need to help them earn a living, and he has now reinforced his link to the publication Down Under.

Sheeran performed a free gig in the city's Martin Place to launch his upcoming Australian tour, and he invited 15 Big Issue vendors to the event to hand out copies to introduce the title to a new audience.

The stunt ties in with an online campaign which Sheeran has launched to raise money for the organisation.

Emma O'Halloran, Marketing Manager for Big Issue Australia, says, "For the last I think month or so, Ed and his gang have built an online campaign to support the Big Issue (and raise donations)... These fans you see here today (at the concert) are hopefully going to be our next Big Issue buyers. If we can engage with them and communicate with them about our magazine... for many of them it's the first time they've opened a copy. So, for us, it's a great opportunity to get them to sample the magazine and hopefully buy it next time they see a vendor."

The Big Issue was launched in Britain in 1991 to help homeless generate income for themselves, and it has become the world's most widely-circulated street publication after starting up in numerous other countries.