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Reuters

After a four-year break, K-pop supergroup BTS returned on Saturday with a massive and free comeback concert in Seoul, where thousands of police locked down a central boulevard for the Netflix-exclusive spectacle that drew tens of thousands of fans.
All seven members of the band – RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook – recently completed South Korea’s mandatory military service and hope to reclaim their status as one of the world’s biggest pop acts.
Organisers of the concert, which started at 8pm local time, gave away 22,000 free tickets, but the area was open ⁠to non-ticket holders ⁠to watch the performance on Netflix via giant screens.
The event was also streamed live on the platform to 190 countries.
The dark streets blazed with light as thousands of fans sang and cheered from the city’s cordoned off sections.

“I still vividly remember how, at our last Busan concert a few years ago, we asked you to wait for us. Thank you so much for coming here like this,” Jin said.
J-Hope told the crowd in English: “We will do our best to give everything we got.”
“Annyeonghaseyo! We’re back,” RM, the band’s leader, told the crowd, using the Korean word for “hello” as they opened with Body to Body, setting off delirious screams from fans waving purple and red light sticks and thrusting smartphones into the air.
The authorities had prepared for an estimated 260,000 fans to flood the city’s streets and millions more to watch the show live on Netflix.
The performance at Gwanghwamun Square launches a global tour spanning dozens of shows across the United States, Europe and Asia, which analysts say could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue per quarter.
The hour-long concert came after the group on Friday released its fifth album, ARIRANG, which sold nearly 4 million copies in its first day, said the band’s management company, HYBE.
Arirang is the name of Korea’s favourite folk song.
BTS made their debut in 2013 and ‌went on to global superstardom, becoming the most streamed K-pop artist globally on Spotify, with its members invited to the White House and partnering with the UN.


In 2022, the group went on hiatus so the band could complete South Korea’s mandatory military service.
“The City of Seoul will do its best to make it flexible – to make [the performance] both safe and enjoyable,” said Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Thursday as he checked safety measures put in place.
Seoul was staging the event nearly four years after a crowd crush killed Halloween revellers in the city’s Itaewon nightlife district.
Memories of the disaster still linger, amplifying pressure on the authorities to ensure the safety of what is expected to be one of its ⁠largest-ever public gatherings.
Seoul police shut streets and erected fences and metal detectors around the square, which sits to the south of Gyeongbokgung Palace.
They also said they would jam signals ‌of unauthorised drones.
The Seoul government, HYBE and other organisations involved in the event also deployed a combined 8,200 personnel to manage the crowds, who began to gather on Friday.

The government said it had set up medical stations and secured 2,551 toilets for ‌the public, including in nearby buildings.
Netflix and HYBE on Saturday relaxed restrictions on media coverage of the show, allowing longer audio or video footage of the performance to ‌be shown, but still imposed a ban on live-streaming by the media.
A ‘TRILLIONS OF WON’ COMEBACK BTS’ world tour will last into 2027 and is set to be the biggest global K-pop tour of all time as well as the largest of BTS’ career to ‌date, spanning ‌34 regions and 82 shows as of this week, according to the tour website.
Analysts are projecting blockbuster revenues for the group’s return to the global stage, with some estimates pointing to total tour ‌earnings of as much as 2.7 trillion won (US$1.81 billion), potentially approaching or overtaking past top-grossing tours such as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour.

Seoul-based analysts also estimated that ⁠it could bring in total ticket revenue of at least 1.5 trillion won and total attendance of between 5 million and 6 million fans across the whole tour.
On Friday, South Korea’s finance minister said ⁠on social media that the direct economic effect of the Saturday comeback concert alone was in the “trillions of won”.
The number of shows could reach 100 once dates to be added next year are included, said Hwang Ji-won, an analyst at iM Securities.
He also pointed out the 360-degree central stage, meaning the audience surrounds the ‌group as they perform.
Analysts say such a set means no obstructed views and an increase in audience capacity, boosting sales.
Roughly half the shows were expected to be in North America and Europe, where ticket prices were generally higher, Hwang added.
Kim Yu-hyuk of IBK Investment & Securities forecast total tour revenue of 2.7 trillion won and operating profit of 487 billion won, including merchandise, expected to be a major additional revenue driver.
Spending estimates on merchandise range from 100,000 won to 140,000 won per fan, while prices of the new “ARMY Bomb” light stick that the audience use to cheer BTS at concerts have soared on second-hand sites.
“It will be amazing because it’s been so long that BTS (was) not with us,” said Dallila Di Tullio, a 32-year-old Italian fan, calling the concert a once-in-a-century event.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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There were 22,000 free tickets, with thousands of other fans flooding Seoul to watch on giant screens, plus a Netflix live stream


There were 22,000 free tickets, with thousands of other fans flooding Seoul to watch on giant screens, plus a Netflix live stream.


South Korea’s BTS play first gig together in nearly 4 years

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}There were 22,000 free tickets, with thousands of other fans flooding Seoul to watch on giant screens, plus a Netflix live stream

There were 22,000 free tickets, with thousands of other fans flooding Seoul to watch on giant screens, plus a Netflix live stream