BTS Sold Out Three Chile Stadium Shows. The Government Never Approved the Venue.
Three BTS stadium shows in Santiago sold out in April. More than 48,000 tickets per night, gone within hours. What buyers didn't know: the venue itself was never formally cleared.
Chile's National Sports Institute (IND) confirmed this week that it has declined to authorize BTS's "Arirang" world tour concerts at Estadio Nacional for Oct. 14, 16 and 17, citing technical concerns over the tour's 360-degree stage. According to Sports Minister Natalia Duco, the mitigation report submitted by promoter DG Medios failed to meet the standards required to protect the field and infrastructure at Chile's main national stadium. The roughly 600-ton stage would sit at the center of the field, and the production's estimated five-to-seven-day restoration window, Duco said, didn't sufficiently guarantee the turf's recovery in time for the venue's other scheduled sporting and civic events.
Duco has pushed back on the idea that anything was revoked. "I want to clarify that no authorization was canceled or revoked because that authorization never existed," she said on Chilean program "24 Horas," adding that ticket sales were "a business decision made by the production company while the technical evaluation was still underway." The IND's review of DG Medios' proposal had been running for more than 10 months, since the promoter first applied in September 2025.
The government says the shows aren't off. Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado has offered alternative sites within the same stadium complex, including the National Stadium Park esplanade and Cerrillos Park, and Duco has said the concerts could proceed if the stage design is modified. Neither option currently has confirmed capacity for a crowd the size of what's already been sold.
Fans didn't wait for an official response. Hundreds of BTS ARMY marched toward La Moneda, Chile's presidential palace, on July 5, with simultaneous protests reported in 11 cities nationwide. "We want answers from the government and the Minister of Sports. We do not want refunds or other venues," fan Juan Bugueño told local media. The dispute has also drawn in Chilean politicians - Alejandro Bernales of the Freedom Party argued the decision "negatively impacts Chile's economy and national image."
HYBE told the Korea Herald it is "looking into the matter" and has not issued a further statement. DG Medios has not said whether the shows will be relocated, rescheduled, or reformatted, nor has it addressed the roughly 144,000 tickets already sold.
