BTS's 'ARIRANG' Tour in South America: The Firsts in Bogotá, Lima and Santiago

BTS’s ‘ARIRANG’ world tour began its South America run in Bogotá, Colombia, on 2 October. The leg is 14 concerts across five cities: Bogotá, Lima in Peru, Santiago in Chile, Buenos Aires in Argentina and São Paulo in Brazil. Each of the three cities played so far was either a first for BTS or a return after a long gap.

In Colombia, BTS performed as a full group for the first time, and Peru was a country the group had never visited since its 2013 debut. The Chile concerts are the first in nine years, since 2017. Every South America show is held in a stadium of more than 30,000 seats.

Bogotá: the first full-group concerts in Colombia

The tour’s first South America shows took place on 2 and 3 October, local time, at Bogotá’s Estadio El Campín. These were BTS’s first concerts in Colombia as a full group. According to Newsis, BTS is the first Korean act to play the stadium.

Ahead of the shows, a city decree of 30 September named BTS guests of honour of Bogotá. According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, the city cited the group’s part since its 2013 debut in raising the international standing of Korean music and culture, and its influence on a younger generation. During the shows the city lit major buildings, Colpatria Tower among them, in purple.

The economic effect exists as city estimates. Star News reported that the Tourism Observatory under Bogotá’s tourism institute expected spending linked to the two shows to exceed 99 billion Colombian pesos. The city’s Economic Development Secretariat later put the effect at about 126 billion pesos and 5,244 direct and indirect jobs. MBC Entertainment reported that the local outlet Rolling Stone en Español described the shows as “the concert an entire generation had been waiting for most”.

Lima: the first concerts in Peru since debut

In Lima, the second city, three concerts took place at Estadio San Marcos on 7, 9 and 10 October. They were BTS’s first performances in Peru since the group debuted in 2013. According to Ilgan Sports, the run was first planned as two shows, one more was added, and the added date sold out as well. The Korea Times reported that BigHit Music counted about 151,500 fans across the three concerts.

On stage, the members greeted the crowd in Spanish with “Los amo” (“I love you”) and said: “Your energy is really incredible. We wonder why it took us so long to come to Peru.” During the concert week, Lima’s Santiago de Surco district renamed Calle Sacramento as “Avenida BTS” from 5 to 11 October and put up signs.

Before the shows, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism projected more than 50,000 visitors to Lima and about 18.7 million US dollars in tourism-related economic effect. It is a government projection made before the concerts.

Santiago: the first standalone show by a Korean act at Estadio Nacional

The third city is Santiago, Chile. Three concerts were scheduled at Estadio Nacional on 14, 16 and 17 October. According to Star News, BTS played its first Chile show on 14 October, local time, opening with the words: “It took us nine years to come back, so this is going to be an amazing show.” It is the group’s first concert in Chile since March 2017.

BTS is the first Korean act to hold a standalone concert at the stadium. Its use went through a review first. On 2 July, Chile’s National Sports Institute (IND) declined to rent out the stadium, citing damage to the grass and the load of the stage, and on 21 July Chile’s Ministry of Sport authorised the three concerts. The ministry explained that it “reversed the decision as the organisers incorporated a series of technical changes to protect the sports infrastructure in the stadium”.

According to The Korea Herald, the revised plan keeps heavy machinery off the grass while the 360-degree stage is built, runs the cranes from the athletics track and lays a ventilated protective covering over the grass.

Still to come: Buenos Aires and São Paulo

The tour continues to Argentina and Brazil. According to The Korea Times, the Buenos Aires concerts take place on 21, 23 and 24 October at Estadio Único de La Plata. The São Paulo concerts follow on 28, 30 and 31 October at Estádio do MorumBIS. The South America leg ends in São Paulo on 31 October.

BTS will be the first Korean act to play the La Plata stadium, and Argentina will also see its first BTS concerts as a full group. The São Paulo stadium holds more than 72,000 people, the largest venue of the South America tour. Citing Ticketmaster Brasil, The Korea Herald reported that more than 630,000 people joined the two-day fan club presale for the São Paulo shows.

Of these, the Buenos Aires show on 24 October and the São Paulo show on 30 October will be broadcast to cinemas worldwide as live viewings.

Key takeaways

• The Bogotá concerts on 2 and 3 October were BTS’s first in Colombia as a full group.
• The Lima concerts on 7, 9 and 10 October were BTS’s first in Peru since its debut, with about 151,500 fans by BigHit Music’s count.
• The Santiago concerts on 14, 16 and 17 October are BTS’s first in Chile in nine years and the first standalone concerts by a Korean act at Estadio Nacional.
• The remaining dates are Buenos Aires on 21, 23 and 24 October and São Paulo on 28, 30 and 31 October.