BTS concludes 14 performances in 5 South American countries... met 853,000 people

BTS concluded the South American leg of the world tour ″Arirang″ with a performance in São Paulo, Brazil, on the 31st of last month. During this tour, BTS held 14 concerts across five countries: Bogotá, Colombia; Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; La Plata, Argentina; and São Paulo, Brazil, attracting a total audience of 853,000. All shows were sold out. Fans from Ecuador and Bolivia, where no concerts were held, crossed borders to attend the show in Lima, Peru. According to data from the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, 27.9% of foreign attendees at the Lima concert came from Ecuador, and 10.6% from Bolivia. Mexico was the second largest group at 12.2%. Local reports noted that Bolivian fans attended the concert with their families, considering the journey a ″family memory.″ The Lima concerts drew 151,500 attendees over three days, triple the 50,000 expected by the Peruvian government. The Lima Chamber of Commerce estimated an economic impact of up to 200 million soles (approximately 80 billion KRW). Local fans gathered over 25,000 participation requests and held a drone show for BTS at Costa Verde on the coast. The Santiago, Chile concert was once at risk of cancellation. The Chilean National Sports Institute initially denied permission to use the Santiago National Stadium, despite nearly 200,000 tickets having already been sold. Fans marched to the presidential palace carrying purple banners, and permission was reissued after three weeks. At the concert, RM called the Chilean audience who sang ″Arirang″ together ″the best.″ Foreign media also paid attention to this South American tour. The U.S. outlet Latin Times described the tour as ″one of the most notable cultural pilgrimages on the continent″ and shared the story of a fan who saved money for six years and traveled nearly 30 hours to reach the venue. Latin Times explained that even the lowest-priced tickets for the Chile concert equated to several weeks’ wages for workers in the Andes region. The British music media outlet Clash described the Argentina concert as feeling ″like a soccer match before the game due to the passionate fandom,″ reporting that the production team had to increase microphone and speaker volume because of the loud cheers. They also mentioned the moment when 53,000 people sang the Korean folk song ″Arirang″ in Korean together. Latin Times stated, ″South and Central America are no longer peripheral markets for BTS.″ According to U.S. music data company Luminate, South and Central America accounted for 27% of global streaming during the eight weeks following the release of the full-length album ″Arirang,″ the highest proportion among all regions worldwide. J-HOPE said at the final São Paulo concert, ″Because we don’t get to meet often, South America was one of the schedules we looked forward to the most.″ After the concert, Jimin said on Weverse Live, ″I will hold onto these memories, prepare well, and come back again next time.″