BTS wrapped up the North American leg of its “Arirang” world tour after drawing some 1.92 million concertgoers across 31 sold-out shows and setting new records during the final stop in Los Angeles.
The group performed in 12 North American cities, beginning in Tampa, Florida, before concluding the run with four shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California on Sept. 1-2 and 5-6.
The four Los Angeles concerts drew a combined 282,000 concertgoers. Including the four concerts it held at the stadium in 2021 as part of the “Permission to Dance on Stage” tour brings BTS’ cumulative attendance at SoFi Stadium to approximately 496,000.
With this year’s shows, the group has now staged eight concerts at the stadium, the most by any group since the venue opened. According to Big Hit Music, BTS has also drawn the largest cumulative concert audience of any group at the stadium.
The North American leg of BTS' tour was met with official recognition from several cities and states along the tour route.
Los Angeles declared Sept. 1-8 “BTS Week”; Toronto designated Aug. 22-23 as “BTS Weekend” and temporarily renamed a section of Yonge Street as “BTS Boulevard.” Illinois proclaimed Aug. 27 and 28 as “BTS Day in Illinois” to coincide with the group’s concerts in Chicago.
El Paso in Texas similarly designated the group’s concert period on May 2 and 3 as “El Paso BTS Weekend” and presented BTS with an “Estimado Amigo (Dear Friend)” award, recognizing the group for boosting local tourism, elevating the city’s profile for major international events and promoting positive social messages through its music.
In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore welcomed the group through a video message before BTS' shows on Aug. 10 and 11, describing the seven members as “bringing people together across cultural, geographic and linguistic boundaries.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also personally invited BTS to the National Palace when the group was in Mexico City to host concerts on May 7, 9 and 10. Roughly 50,000 fans gathered outside the palace to welcome the group.
The final Los Angeles stop included celebrations for Jungkook and RM, whose birthdays fall on Sept. 1 and Sept. 12, respectively. Tens of thousands of fans sang birthday songs for the two members, illuminating the stadium in gold in reference to Jungkook's solo album “Golden” and blue for RM's “Indigo.”
“It feels like yesterday that we started our tour in Tampa and that this is the end (of the North American tour) in LA. We were waiting for this North American tour for so long,” said J-Hope during BTS’ concert in Los Angeles on Sunday. “Maybe because we were so happy, every moment seems to have passed in an instant. We’ll cherish all of these moments.”
BTS takes “Arirang” to South America next, beginning in Bogota, Colombia, on Oct. 2 and 3. The group is scheduled to perform in Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo, with the upcoming dates marking BTS’ first full-group visits to Colombia, Peru and Argentina.
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
