When the world’s biggest K-pop group announced their hiatus in late 2022, they were at the height of superstardom. They regularly topped music charts, won prestigious awards, and arguably transformed the genre into a global cultural phenomenon.
Now, BTS is back – and coming to a city near you. As the clock struck midnight on Wednesday in Seoul, the group announced the dates and locations of a highly anticipated world tour, with their new album expected to release in March – the band’s first in nearly four years.
In what will be their biggest tour yet, BTS will perform across 34 regions, starting in April with multiple concerts in Goyang, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan, before traveling to other cities across Asia, North America, Europe, South America and Australia. The tour is currently scheduled to conclude in Manila, Philippines in March 2027, though a message on the band’s website said more dates would be announced in Japan, the Middle East “and more”.
BTS’s fans, known as ARMY, have been fervently awaiting their idols’ comeback since the last of their members completed mandatory military service last year – though the speed of the announcement came as a welcome surprise to some.
“It’s like the gods are coming down from Mount Olympus,” said Carla Nicholson, a fan from San Diego who currently studies in Seoul and visited a BTS promotional installation in the South Korean capital last week. When the album releases, she plans to rent an entire cinema to watch the music videos with her friends, she said.
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