BTS to visit three new European stadia on 2020 tour

Following a short hiatus from touring, K-pop superstars BTS are heading back out on the road in 2020, visiting stadia in South Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada, and Europe.

The tour is the band’s first outing since their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself world tour, which was the sixth highest-grossing tour of last year, generating US$170.3 million and selling over 1.3m tickets.

Beginning on 11 April with four dates at Seoul’s 69,950-capacity Olympic Stadium, the 2020 Map of the Soul tour sees BTS head to Europe in July, after 15 North American dates and two shows in Fukuoka, Japan. The band are playing two nights each at London’s 82,000-capacity Twickenham Stadium, Berlin’s 74,475-capacity Olympiastadion and the 55,926-capacity Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona.

BTS will return to the UK on 3 July after two record-breaking shows at the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena and two sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium last year. The Wembley gig, which saw the band play to 120,000 fans over live shows and to 140,000 more across the world via live stream, marked the first time a Korean act headlined the iconic London stadium.

The K-pop group will play at stadia in Germany and Spain for the first time

The K-pop group will also visit Germany and Spain, playing at stadia in the two countries for the first time. The Stade de France, along with London’s Wembley Stadium, were the only two European stadium dates appearing on the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself tour.

Following the European leg, BTS will return to Japan, playing a six-night run at the Kyocera Dome (55,000) in Osaka and two shows a piece at Saitama’s MetLife Dome (34,000) and the Tokyo Dome (55,000).

The 2020 tour is the boyband’s biggest North American outing yet, seeing them perform a run of stadium shows at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium (68,5000-cap.), Los Angeles’ Rose Bowl Stadium (90,888), Dallas’ Cotton Bowl Stadium (92,100), Orlando’s Camping World Stadium (65,000), Atlanta’s Bobby Dodd Stadium (55,000), East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium (82,500), Washington’s FedExField (82,000), Toronto’s Rogers Centre (53,506) and Chicago’s Soldier Field (61,500).

Tickets for the Map of the Soul tour go on sale on Friday 7 February at 3 p.m. local time here. A verified fan presale begins on 5 February at 3 p.m. local time, with presale for non fan club members opening at the same time the following day. Fans can register for the verified fan presale now here.

A full list of tour dates can be found on the BTS website.

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Fourth time’s the charm for Lolla Berlin 2018

The fourth edition of Lollapalooza Berlin, held on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September, was a sell-out success, welcoming 70,000 festivalgoers a day to its new home, the Berlin Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion).

Lolla Berlin, organised by FRHUG Festival GmbH, a joint venture between Hörstmann/Melt! and Festival Republic, moved to the Olympiastadion/Olympiapark for 2018 – the fourth venue in four years – after an otherwise successful 2017 event was marred by problems with public transport.

The 2018 event was headlined was headlined by the Weeknd and Kraftwerk, with other performers including Imagine Dragons, Liam Gallagher, Dua Lipa, David Guetta, the National, Kygo, Rag’n’Bone Man and German rapper Casper. It was the biggest-ever event of its kind to take place at the stadium.

“It would be great if Lollapalooza can play here for a very long time”

According to festival director Fruzsina Szép, there is a “firm commitment” from the city for Lolla to stay at the Olympiastadion next year, although its long-term future depends on the festival weekend not clashing with football fixtures for Hertha BSC, who play their home games at the stadium.

“We are having very good conversations with Hertha about it,” she tells the Berliner Zeitung. “It would be great if Lollapalooza can play here for a very long time.”

The festival was forced to evacuate its original home, the disused Tempelhof Airport, when the site was converted into temporary housing for refugees in early 2016. A move to Treptower Park followed in 2016, which was opposed by many local residents and even ten states of the former USSR, as the park houses a Soviet war memorial.

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