Pop megastar Ed Sheeran has surprised children and staff at a major Melbourne hospital with an impromptu performance.

The 32-year-old British superstar popped into the Royal Children’s Hospital on Tuesday afternoon for an unexpected half-hour show.

He was met with cheers from patients, staff and family members as crowds gathered around while he performed several of his hits.

Tuesday’s visit followed similar pop-up shows by the star at Sydney’s Randwick Hospital and Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Tweet from @DrEricLevi

It earned him a special thank you from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews

“Love this. Thanks, Ed Sheeran,” he tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.

Hospital staff were also impressed.

“Some days, working in a kids’ hospital is really difficult. Today is not one of those days. Thank you,” tweeted paediatrician Dr Sarah McNab.

The impromptu concert came after another important stopover for the star. He visited Melbourne’s sports precinct late on Monday for a special moment with the statue of late music promoter Michael Gudinski.

Accompanied by Gudinski’s son Matt, Sheeran raised a glass to the Mushroom Records founder, who was his friend and mentor.

“Toasting a 707 [Penfolds wine] to the big man ahead of playing the biggest ticketed shows ever in Australian history this weekend. We miss you, you finally got me playing MCG in the round,” he wrote on an Instagram post of the moment.

Sheeran wrote his song Visiting Hours about Gudinski and premiered it at a state memorial service for the promoter last March.

The singer is in Australia for a string of concerts. After Melbourne, he heads to Adelaide and Perth.