From Left: V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin, J-Hope of BTS. Photo: Getty
South Korean pop sensation BTS made history by becoming the first international act to hold a solo stadium concert in Saudi Arabia. Officially kicking off Riyadh Season, the concert held on October 11 saw a crowd of over 60,000 people filling up King Fahd International Stadium to see members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jungkook.
The concert was a part of BTS’ “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” world tour, and featured the seven-member boyband singing their biggest hits paired with power-packed dance performances. BTS showed their love for the dedicated Saudi fans by greeting them and thanking them in Arabic. The members also celebrated Jimin’s birthday on stage by singing ‘happy birthday’ to him in Arabic. Videos of the gestures have since gone viral on social media.
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This is not the first time a K-Pop band has performed in the region. In July, Super Junior performed their first concert in the Kingdom as a part of the Jeddah Season which was also met with a huge wave of love and appreciation shown by K-Pop fans.
With over 100 events and activities taking place across the capital city, Riyadh Season is set to become the Kingdom’s biggest festival season. The events will be scattered among 12 tourist zones with seven different themes such as joy, inspire, taste, explore, fantasy, speed, and desert. Fans of Arab pop music can look forward to performances by Hussein Jasmi, Tamer Hosny, Nancy Ajram, Assala and more. The world-renowned play Wizard of Oz will also be making its way to Riyadh for two weeks as part of the 70-day mega event.
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