Ed Sheeran Contest Flooded With Fake Entries, Guitar Center Speaks Out

Guitar Center is speaking out after fake submissions swamped its contest to pick an opener for Ed Sheeran ... and the company says those folks won't be considered.

Here's the deal ... Guitar Center's "Open for Legends" contest -- which offers one artist a spot opening for Ed in Mexico City -- was flooded with submissions about Palestine among other topics after going live.

The entries were initially visible on the contest page before disappearing ... and Guitar Center tells TMZ the people responsible don't have a shot at taking the stage with Ed.

The company tells us ... "As with any open submission process, we received entries that were not legitimate applications to participate in the program."

Guitar Center also says the contest was developed months ago ... making clear it wasn't thrown together because of the recent controversy surrounding Ed's tour.

As TMZ previously reported ... Macklemore was removed from the tour after his pro-Palestine remarks sparked major backlash.

That controversy has only snowballed ... with opening act Aaron Rowe, Finneas and Ed's own band Beoga backing out while voicing support for Palestinians.

And while Guitar Center says its contest has nothing to do with that mess, the timing gave protesters a pretty obvious place to make their feelings known.

Guitar Center says it's continuing to weed out bogus entries as it searches for the musician who'll ultimately land the opening slot.