BTS Breaks Tottenham Stadium Record, Welcomes 130,000 Fans Across Two Shows

BTS held the world tour 'BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG' IN LONDON' at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England on the 6th and 7th, boasting a record count of about 130,000 fans. Tickets sold out as soon as sales began, and according to promoter Live Nation, this concert set the record for the largest audience per show at the venue since it opened in 2019.

BTS, who became the first Korean artist to enter Wembley Stadium in June 2019, signalled their overwhelming ticket power once again in London, which they visited again after about an interval of seven years. The local embrace was immediate and enthused. Tottenham Hotspur called BTS "Pop Royalty," and the official Korean account posted a video showing the title track of their fifth full-length album, "SWIM," reverberating through the stadium to welcome them.

BTS performed “Hooligan,” “Normal” and “Body to Body” from its latest album “Arirang,” and also sang hit tracks such as “Idol” (2018) and “Fire” (2016). The band said the concert gave them the opportunity to reminiscence about their Wembley performance. The members thanked fans, saying, "We feel the same emotion we felt at Wembley Stadium 7 years ago."

Critical Praise For The Concert

Rolling Stone UK and The Guardian lavished high praise, awarding the concert five stars, with the former calling the concert a “coronation.” The Times gave the concert a four-star review, titling it “a pleasingly carefree sequel from the kings of K-pop.” . The Guardian called it an "incredibly enjoyable spectacle" and praised, "the power BTS holds is formidable." The Times lauded the production's massive scale and described their music as "both intense and addictive." It added that "the audience's heated reaction during the 'MIC Drop' and 'FYA' stages seemed to shake the stadium," vividly reporting the explosive atmosphere. NME took note of the great interest in the traditional Korean identity threaded throughout the performance.

The tour continues at Munich's Allianz Arena on Saturday and Sunday, where the group is slated to become the first Korean act to play the venue. BTS will storm ahead to perform in Paris on July 17 and 18, followed by concerts in the United States and Canada starting in August, where it will perform in New Jersey; Foxborough, Massachusetts; Baltimore; Arlington, Texas; Toronto; Chicago; and Los Angeles.