BTS Draws Thousands of Fans to L.A.’s SoFi Stadium Ahead of First Live Concert Since Start of Pandemic

Selome Hailu
·2 min read

Korean pop sensation BTS, known for such hits as “Butter” and “Dynamite,” is in Los Angeles to perform their first in-person concerts since the start of the pandemic, drawing tens of thousands of fans to stand in a line outside of SoFi Stadium that spirals out over a mile long.

A follow-up to the seven-member groups’s 2019 world tour Love Yourself: Speak Yourself, the group’s Permission to Dance On Stage: Live Play shows will take place this Saturday and Sunday, as well as Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. A line around the SoFi stadium began to form on Friday morning — more than a full day before the concert — as the boy band’s merchandise booth officially opened for presale.

More from Variety

BTS’ fanbase, dubbed the ARMY, is notorious for its fervent dedication to the group. But for some concert attendees, the Los Angeles events have become a source of frustration regarding management of ticket sales. On Thursday, additional tickets for Dance On Stage: Live Play were suddenly made available, even though the event was indicated to have sold out for several months.

“Due to production releases, additional tickets are available for BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE LA,” reads a notice on Ticketmaster. “Due to the limited number of tickets available, a select number of previously waitlisted Verified Fans have been selected at random to receive codes to purchase from this late ticket release.”

Fans took to social media to express outrage at the late release, with many responding to a tweet from SoFi Stadium indicating Ticketmaster as the exclusive merchant for ticket sales.

Many fans have expressed concern over high resale prices, while others lamented that they had bought tickets to performances in other locations or made plans on the days of the concerts under the assumption that it would be impossible to procure tickets closer to the event.

Late ticket releases are a fairly common practice in the music industry for many reasons, including extra seating room created by changes made to choreography and other aspects of live show production. While late ticket releases aren’t new for live performances, the wave of frustration from fans is understandable as a byproduct of the unparalleled enthusiasm for BTS.

Reps for BTS did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment on the matter of late ticket releases.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.