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[Herald Business=Seung-hee Ko] BTS has extended K-pop’s reach to one of North America’s most storied sports venues.
According to BigHit Music on the 22nd, BTS staged the BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ at Stanford Stadium in California on May 16, 17 and 19 (local time), drawing roughly 152,000 fans over the three shows.
Tickets sold out as soon as they were released, and additional dates added in response to fan demand also sold out quickly.
Opened in 1921, Stanford Stadium had hosted concerts only by the British band Coldplay until now. BTS’s appearance there underscores the group’s singular standing in the global music landscape.
The performance’s defining moment came during “Body to Body,” a track tied to their fifth studio album. When the melody of the traditional Korean folk song “Arirang” was layered over the bass line, fans unveiled South Korean flags (taegeukgi) they had brought and sang along in Korean in unison. The stadium swelled into an almost surreal tide of blue and red.
After the encore, the members said, “We’re living the most brilliant moment of our lives,” adding, “We will carry the visual splendor and the wonder you gifted us forever.”
The tour’s momentum builds on their recent runs in Japan and Latin America. In April they bathed Tokyo Dome in purple over three nights for 110,000 fans, imprinting variations of “Arirang,” and in early May their Mexico City shows at Estadio GNP Seguros sparked such a frenzy that even the president formally requested an additional performance.
Financial firms and international media estimate the Arirang world tour’s cumulative revenue will exceed 3 trillion KRW (approximately 2.25 billion USD), nearing Taylor Swift’s records. That total factors in album sales, ticket revenue from 85 sold-out stadium dates worldwide, and ancillary income from “The City” project, which turns host cities into festival-like events. Analysts say BTS now operates as a K–soft-power conglomerate that extends far beyond mere ticket sales.
Having set this historic milestone, BTS will move next to Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium for four performances. They are also nominated in three categories at the American Music Awards on the 25th, including Artist of the Year, where they will vie for their second top prize.
Afterward, the group will launch an Asia–Australia stadium leg beginning in November in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and in February they are scheduled to become the first Korean act to perform at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, capping their global expansion.
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