After cancelling the inaugural Seoul leg of their latest world tour, K-pop outfit BTS are now at risk of having the American shows in the series rolled back amid the ongoing coronavirus spread in the United States. The seven-member boy band were due to start their “Map of the Soul Tour” with four shows at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium in mid-April. But the band’s management agency, Big Hit Entertainment, cancelled the Seoul concerts in late February when the outbreak showed no signs of slowing in South Korea. Now, the global outbreaks are putting the world tour’s next stop in the US at risk of cancellation as American authorities struggle to contain the virus . The American Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that gatherings of 50 people or more be cancelled or postponed for the next eight weeks. BTS were scheduled to start the North American leg of the “Map of the Soul Tour” with two shows in Santa Clara, California, on April 25 and 26. The tour is then scheduled to move to Los Angeles on May 2 and 3 and then Dallas, Texas, on May 9 and 10. The first six North American concerts fall within the eight-week time frame advised by the CDC. After that, the band are to travel to Orlando, Atlanta, New Jersey, Washington, DC, Toronto and Chicago before moving to Fukuoka in Japan in late June. As the coronavirus pandemic hits the US, a host of artists and concert venues have cancelled or postponed schedules for March, April and May due to infection concerns. Last week, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the venue where BTS’ first two US concerts are scheduled to be held, announced that it would temporarily suspend operations to conform with the federal government guidelines. The stadium did not reveal when it would reopen, only saying it was closed until “further notice”. A major American music festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, also rescheduled this year’s event from mid-April to October due to the pandemic. Canadian singer Celine Dion also postponed her “Courage World Tour” planned for North America in March and April, while American pop diva Taylor Swift’s appearance at the JamFest music festival, set for April 5, has also been cancelled. American singer Billie Eilish also postponed the remaining March dates for her concert tour, “Where Do We Go?” Big Hit has not yet announced whether BTS will stick to the original tour schedule in the US, but team leader RM has spoken of his frustration with the situation. Which Korean celebrity landlords are forfeiting rents amid the coronavirus? “Due to the difficult state of affairs and the situation, things are not going the way we wanted,” RM said in a live video log last week. “It’s frustrating there’s little we can do [to change the situation]. Still we will continue to move on.” According to Billboard, BTS earned US$116.6 million in revenue from its “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” world tour last year, which brought the band to 10 cities in North and South America, Europe, Japan, Saudi Arabia and their home country of South Korea from May to October. Read the full story at the Korea Times