While BTS's free concert may have started with a lot of excitement, making it a reality is becoming more and more of a nightmare. And since it doesn't appear to be canceled, Korean fans are doing their best to handle the upcoming event, even if they don't have to.
The concert, titled ' BTS: Yet to come ' , will be held on October 15 at Asiad Stadium in Busan. It is part of the city's bid to host the World Expo in 2030.
Initially, the concert was to be held on a stage built on the site of a former glass factory of around 140,000 square meters and was expected to attract 100,000 fans.
However, this venue was far from major city gateways such as Busan Station and Gimhae International Airport. It would also have taken more than eight hours to transport all the spectators, even though the Donghae Line trains ran every five minutes.
The concert hall appeared to have only one access door, which raised concerns about everyone's safety.
After Busan city's preparations drew a lot of criticism, HYBE, the boy group's agency, announced a change of location to "create a pleasant and safe environment for the audience without forgetting the main purpose of the 'event. »
Asiad's main stadium has 53,769 seats and 72 entry and exit gates. In June 2019, BTS held their Magic Shop fan meeting at the stadium, and around 45,000 people attended the event. “BTS: Yet to come” will therefore not welcome 100,000 spectators as initially announced.
"The concert is expected to accommodate around 50,000 people considering the stage space ," a Busan city official told Korean media.
“The plan to invite 3,500 representatives from Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) member states [who vote for World Expo host countries] is still valid, but we will discuss the number of guests with HYBE ,” the official said. .
Korean ARMYs continue to worry about fans who will attend the concert, while the city of Busan has given no concrete response. In addition to the mismanagement of this event, the city decided not to sponsor the concert of the septet.
So the fans decided to organize a team of volunteers experienced in handling large-scale events, including emergency response, crowd control, firefighting, disaster prevention, and more. to make sure the event is safe.
Hotel rates in the city also continue to rise despite city officials promising fans to investigate.
With the majority of accommodations already booked, rates for a one-night stay have increased from 50,000 (50 euros) to 600,000 won (536 euros) and from 150,000 won to 2 million won (1,430 euros) .
"What worries the fans the most after the concert is the rising hotel prices ," said a 37-year-old BTS fan who lives in Busan.
“BTS is holding a concert in good faith ,” she added, “and many fans are worried about whether our boys will be criticized if something goes wrong. »
With thousands of foreign spectators expected in Busan, health authorities must be wondering if BTS' mega concert could cause a huge cluster.
“We plan to discuss sanitary measures with HYBE as soon as the number of foreigners, including the number of guests, is confirmed ,” said a city official.
"Once planning for the disaster concert is established, we will widely seek expert advice and cooperation from related organizations such as airports if necessary ," the official added.
