Ed Sheeran surprised his parents with an “unforgettable” private viewing of the Louvre national museum and art gallery in Paris following a performance in the French capital.
The pop star’s father, retired art curator John Sheeran, said he believed it was his son’s “way of saying thank you to us” and he described it as an “unforgettable experience”.
Singer-songwriter Sheeran, 33, performed in Paris in 2021 as part of Global Citizen Live, which aimed to raise awareness of poverty, climate change and the need for coronavirus vaccines worldwide.
His father, speaking in an interview to promote a fundraising event for Ipswich Art Society’s Young Artists Fund, said he and his wife Imogen travelled to Paris.
“Imogen and I went to Paris to see Edward perform at the Global Citizen gig in front of the Eiffel Tower, which was extraordinary enough,” he said.
“He then surprised us on Sunday evening by taking us with his wife Cherry to the Louvre.
“He’d arranged to have the whole place to ourselves for three hours.
“I think it was his way of saying thank you to us.
“It is the only time I’ve been able to study the Mona Lisa without the crowds.
“It was an unforgettable experience.”
Mr Sheeran said he and his wife had a similar moment with their composer son Matthew, Ed’s older brother.
“We sat next to him in a packed Westminster Abbey listening to the full choir singing an anthem composed by him,” he said.
“It was so moving.
“It was commissioned for a service of celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of the Arts Society.
“Matthew was inspired to write the choral piece by an early Italian Renaissance painting which he’d seen at the Courtauld Galleries in London.
“It was a true full-circle moment.
“After 40 years, I was back at Westminster Abbey, where it all started for me.”
Mr Sheeran and his wife moved from their one-bedroom flat in London to Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire in 1986, with their son Matthew born in Halifax in 1989 and his brother Ed in 1991.
They moved to Framlingham in Suffolk in 1995, running their art consultancy Sheeran Lock.
Mr Sheeran retired aged 60.
He will give an illustrated talk, titled Masterpiece Paintings, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Ipswich Arts Society and in aid of its Young Artists Fund.
Tickets for the talk, on March 28 at The Hold Lecture Theatre in Ipswich, can be bought online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/131-fore-street/the-hold-ipswich-home-of-suffolk-archives/talk-masterpiece-paintings-an-illustrated-talk-by-john-sheeran/e-ldmdxd