Us Britons have become wearily resigned to the sheer ubiquity of the scruffy, ginger-haired pop troubadour Ed Sheeran. Nor is fleeing the country a guaranteed way to avoid his treacly crooning on monster hits such as Shape of You and Thinking Out Loud: Sheeran conquered America, with an assist from pal Taylor Swift, and then the globe, becoming a dominant force on streaming service Spotify.

But even Sheeran’s most ardent fans, or those gloomily resigned to his unstoppable rise, were staggered to hear his announcement last December of where he would be popping up next: the mysterious kingdom of Bhutan.

The 33-year-old Grammy-winner appeared on Friday Jan 24 at Changlimithang Stadium in capital Thimphu – becoming the first ever Western artist to perform in Bhutan. Not even Swift can make that boast.

Sheeran took to Instagram earlier that day to share a video from the national stadium, where, he explained proudly, he was “super, super excited” to be making history with this international concert. “Obviously I’ve never been here before,” he continued, “and I feel very welcomed, and it’s going to be quite the gig. There’s 25,000 people coming. I’m buzzed to be in Bhutan.”