Ed Sheeran made a surprise appearance at Hobbiton.
The British singer-songwriter took a short detour on his New Zealand tour to visit Hobbiton, the outdoor movie set where the legendary "Lord of the Rings" films and "The Hobbit" prequels were filmed.
In a video making the rounds on TikTok, Ed Sheeran is seen playing his guitar in the 'Green Dragon Inn' and singing his song 'I See Fire', which was released in 2013 for the soundtrack of the movie 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug).
"We had an unexpected visitor at The Green Dragon Inn tonight," Hobbiton commented on its TikTok account.
Known to millions as the village where Frodo, Samwise and dozens of other hobbits were born, Hobbiton is located in Waikato on the North Island of New Zealand and welcomes thousands of visitors each year. Guided tours of the 55-acre site began in 2002 and continue daily.
Director Peter Jackson was the one who personally commissioned Ed Sheeran to write 'I See Fire' especially for the film 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'. "I See Fire" is heard over the end credits of the film.
"It was perfect for me to do the song for 'The Hobbit' because it's quite folky and radical," Sheeran said during the first BBC Music Awards in 2014. "A hairy short dwarf should be singing a song about ' this!"
After three warm-up concerts at the Wellington Opera House last month, Ed Sheeran's New Zealand tour officially kicked off at Wellington's Sky Stadium on February 2.
The tour continues this weekend with shows at Auckland's Eden Park, before Ed Sheeran heads to Australia for shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
After concerts in New Zealand and Australia, Ed Sheeran will bring his 'Mathematics Tour' to North America in May, playing venues across the US until its final stop in Los Angeles in September.