BTS Greeted 50,000 Fans From Mexico's Presidential Balcony. Then Three Concerts Sold Out.
On May 6, BTS stood on the balcony of Mexico's National Palace and addressed roughly 50,000 people packed into the Zócalo - the same historic plaza where the country marks its independence. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum was standing beside them.
The group had spent roughly 40 minutes inside meeting with Sheinbaum before the appearance. The Mexican government presented BTS with a commemorative plaque recognizing the band's cultural influence on Mexican youth. After the members addressed the crowd in Spanish - RM thanking fans, V admitting he had to read his lines off his phone - Sheinbaum told the plaza she had already asked BTS to come back next year.
Three sold-out concerts follow at Estadio GNP Seguros on May 7, 9, and 10. Promoter Ocesa confirmed over 136,000 tickets sold across the three dates. The Mexico City Chamber of Commerce projects the concerts will generate approximately $107.5 million in economic activity for the capital.
The presidential visit didn't happen spontaneously. In January, after BTS's three Mexico City dates sold out in under an hour, Sheinbaum wrote a letter to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung requesting additional concerts. Three weeks later, she announced that the South Korean government had forwarded the request to HYBE. No additional dates materialized - the original three remain the full run.
Mexico's appetite for BTS predates the Arirang era. According to Spotify figures released last year, Mexico ranked as the fifth-largest K-pop streaming market globally, with BTS as its most-streamed K-pop act. Seven of the top 10 most-streamed K-pop songs in the country since the genre's global rise are BTS tracks. The 2020 album Map of the Soul: 7 holds the title of most-streamed K-pop album in Mexico.
Not everyone in ARMY welcomed the optics. On social media, a segment of fans pushed back against Sheinbaum's invitation, asking the president not to politicize the group's visit to Mexico. The criticism didn't visibly dent the crowd turnout at the Zócalo.
BTS is currently on the North American leg of the Arirang world tour - 31 shows across 12 cities. The group performed at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso on May 2-3, drawing around 100,000 concertgoers over two days. "Swim," the lead single from Arirang, held No. 2 on Billboard's Global 200 as of the May 9 chart, its sixth consecutive week in the top three.
The Mexico City run ends May 10. The tour's next announced stops have not yet been confirmed.
