BTS drops world tour schedule, to kick off in Korea this April

Boy band BTS will kick off a long-awaited world tour in April this year, marking its first large-scale global run in nearly four years.

Boy band BTS performs during a concert that was streamed online on April 18, 2021. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Boy band BTS will kick off a long-awaited world tour in April this year, marking its first large-scale global run in nearly four years.

The group announced the new tour at midnight on Tuesday by unveiling a “BTS World Tour” poster on global fan platform Weverse. The tour comes roughly four years after the “Permission to Dance on Stage” tour, which concluded in Las Vegas in 2022, and is set to span major cities across Korea, North America, Europe, South America and Asia.

A total of 79 concerts in 34 cities have been confirmed so far, making it the largest number of shows ever staged in a single tour by a K-pop artist. Additional dates in Japan and the Middle East are expected to be announced later.

The tour will open in Goyang, Gyeonggi, with shows on April 9, 11 and 12 at Goyang Sports Complex. BTS will then meet fans in Busan on June 12 and 13, with the latter date carrying special meaning as the group’s debut anniversary.

The North American leg begins April 25 in Tampa and will include 28 performances across 12 cities. BTS will make history with shows at venues such as Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, marking the first and largest K-pop concerts ever held in those cities.

The group will also perform at Stanford Stadium, becoming only the second artist after Coldplay to do so, and will headline major venues including AT&T Stadium in Arlington and M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, again setting firsts for a Korean act.

A poster for the upcoming world tour by BTS [BIGHIT MUSIC]

In June and July, BTS will move on to Europe, performing 10 shows in five cities, including London and Paris, while having its first-ever solo concerts in Madrid and Brussels. The tour will then continue to South America, with stops in five cities including Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, before expanding further into the Middle East.

The production scale is also drawing attention, with a 360-degree stage design planned to deliver a highly immersive concert experience that matches the tour’s global scope.

Ahead of the tour, BTS will release its fifth full-length album on March 20. The album features 14 tracks and marks the group’s first full-group release in about three years and nine months.

The members are expected to reflect on their shared journey, personal growth and present identity through the new record, setting the stage for what promises to be one of the most significant tours of their careers.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]