South Korean groups BTS have confirmed they’re finally going to perform to a live audience in Seoul, the first time they’ll be in front of fans in their home country since 2019.
The septet will perform three concerts as part of the ‘Permission to Dance on Stage’ tour at the Olympic Stadium on March 10, 12 and 13, Bit Hit Music announced on February 16. Two of the shows will also be livestreamed, while the third will be available to view live in cinemas around the globe.
“We would like to thank all ARMY for patiently waiting for an in-person concert to be held in Korea,” the statement posted on the agency’s social platform Weverse read, referring to the term used for BTS fans.
RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook last performed live in Korea in October 2019, the conclusion to their massive Love Yourself World Tour that took them to the US, UK, Germany, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, among others.
Following this, the K-Pop superstars were to tour again in 2020 to promote their ‘Map of the Soul’ album series. However, the 35-show event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic that swept the world shortly after the announcement.
The group has since performed at online concerts in Korea and at four in-person shows in November in Los Angeles.
COVID-19 hits members
Just a day before the Korean concert announcement, Bit Hit Music stated that singer V had tested positive for COVID-19. He’s the fifth member to have contracted the novel coronavirus in the past few months.
“V visited the hospital Tuesday afternoon on the 15th after experiencing a mild sore throat and took the PCR test. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 tonight,” the statement read on February 15. “V completed 2 rounds of COVID-19 vaccinations and is not presenting any extraordinary symptoms other than a mild fever.”
Jimin, Suga, RM and Jin have previously had COVID-19 and have made a full recovery.
BTS have taken the world by storm since their debut in 2013 and are known for songs such as ‘Butter’, ‘Fake Love’, ‘Spring Day’ and ‘Boy With Luv’. They recently grabbed attention for featuring on the Coldplay song ‘My Universe’, which the British group performed at Expo 2020 Dubai on February 15.
