BTS Returns to UK After Seven-Year Hiatus
BTS played their first UK show in seven years at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on 6 July, as part of their Arirang World Tour. The performance was a pure distillation of what makes a boyband precision-engineered to capture fans' hearts, with pyro, panoptical staging, and an unbelievably enjoyable spectacle.
The band, the biggest K-pop group in the world with more than 40 million albums sold, has a fanbase so fervent it is called the Army. This tour marks their first since a three-year hiatus for each member to complete 18 months of compulsory military service, accompanied by a new album, Arirang. Activations across the capital, including a London Eye takeover, heralded the event.
From Cynicism to Joy
The show started hard, with black outfits, wraparound sunglasses, and pyro from the off. BTS scowled into cameras broadcasting to giant screens, appearing as caricatures far removed from the crowd. But gradually, the performance softened into something more communal and relaxed: lads larking their way through a catalogue of tracks that ricochet from hard rap to buttery pop.
No matter how drilled K-pop bands are known to be, BTS's versatility remains astonishing. The stands literally shook as they thundered through pop-rap crossover Hooligan. The Tame Impala-indebted Like Animals cements their prowess with balladry, soft and floaty enough to feel like it's being sung directly to each of the 62,000 people in the room.
Highlights and Fan Reactions
The industrial-level bangers mid-show were a thrilling energy release, and surprise songs not usual setlist fixtures seemed to delight even the band, who grinned and sang along to each other's parts. The joy onstage was reflected back approximately one million-fold, reverberating through the wall of screams and the sea of lit-up Army Bomb sticks. Fans had photos of their favourite members woven into their hair and dangling off handbags.
The show ended on a gentle note, with members motioning to each other to take out their in-ear monitors to hear fans sing Into the Sun back to them. One reviewer noted: 'I started the show ambivalent and by the end I had a favourite member (Jimin) and an urge to learn Korean. I wanted to make them my wallpaper and bump into them at Duck & Waffle.'
Conclusion
Whatever BTS has, it's potent. The Arirang tour makes it as hard to be cynical about the BTS operation as it is to hear after two hours of the Army's eardrum-bursting screams. At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, on 7 July, the band continued touring.
