BTS to hold ‘Bang Bang Con’ live online concert
K-pop superstars BTS will join several Korean artists in doing paid live concerts online amid the travel restrictions and social distancing rules brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
BTS’ “un-tact” (no contact) concert called “Bang Bang Con: The Live” is a 90-minute paid live streaming concert on June 14 at 6 p.m. Korea Standard Time (5 p.m. in the Philippines). Fans can purchase access to the consecurity cert starting on June 1 through the Weverse app.
Online K-pop concerts are shaping up to become a norm amid the pandemic as Korean entertainment agencies find ways to connect to fans.
Last April 18 and 19, BTS held their “Bang Bang Con” on YouTube that streamed past concerts. The event, which ran for about 24 hours in the two days, garnered 50.5 million views with viewers peaking at 2.24 million.
The two-day event saw 500,000 BTS light sticks from 162 countries and regions connecting through the Weverse app. The hashtag #BangBangCon also generated 6.46 million counts on Twitter and Weverse.
Last April 28, Big Hit Entertainment announced the suspension of BTS’ “Map of the Soul Tour,” which was originally set to begin in Seoul on April 11, due to COVID-19.
It announced the cancellation of the Seoul concerts last February and in the following month, Big Hit Entertainment postponed the North American leg.
“Due to the nature of BTS concerts involving travel by thousands of international fans no matter where the performances are held, it is also difficult to resume the tour with the current strict restrictions on cross-border movement still in place,” the agency said.
Big Hit added, “Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to suspend the previously-announced tour schedule and develop a new schedule.”