(LEAD) BTS holds free concert in Busan to promote 2030 World Expo bid

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead, throughout; CHANGE photos)

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- Global pop group BTS held a free concert in the southeastern port city of Busan on Saturday night to support the city's bid to host the 2030 World Expo.

Around 52,000 fans from around the world attended the concert titled "Yet To Come in Busan" at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium. Another 12,000 fans who failed to obtain tickets enjoyed the show live on large screens set up at Busan Port and Haeundae Beach.

It is the first concert since June when the septet wrapped up the first chapter of its nine-year career with the anthology album "Proof" and announced that its members will be taking a break as a group to pursue solo careers.

The show is also the global superstar's first performance in South Korea since March, when the group staged the "Permission to Dance on Stage" shows in Seoul.

Only 15,000 spectators were allowed to attend per night while all screaming, chanting and singing along were barred under strict COVID-19 rules during the latest concerts at Seoul's Olympic Stadium.

On Saturday, BTS performed its hit singles, such as "Butter," "Dynamite," "Permission to Dance" and "On," as well as tracks from "Proof," including its main single, "Yet To Come."

Various symbols of Busan were featured during the show to boost interest in the city's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, according to the band's agency Big Hit Music. Among the members, Jimin and Jungkook hail from Busan.

Organizers originally planned to hold the concert at a makeshift seaside stage in the city's Gijang County but later changed the venue to the Busan Asiad Main Stadium, a location close to the city's downtown areas, due to safety and accessibility concerns.

There also was a controversy surrounding the costs for hosting the free concert after it was reported Big Hit Music and its parent company Hybe would likely have to seek a way to solely fund about 7 billion won (US$4.8 million) needed to host the concert without any monetary support from the Busan city government or the 2030 World Expo hosting committee. Fans claimed the local government was exploiting the group by aiming to make huge profits without spending any money on the show.

But Hybe said in a statement last month that it and BTS have focused more on "valuable results than costs" in participating in nationally important events and reaffirmed its plan to fund the concert with sponsoring from private firms and online ads, as well as its own coffers if necessary.

The city of Busan was decked in purple lights, the signature color of the K-pop supergroup, before and after the concert.

Hybe also prepared various entertainment events for fans coming to see the show under "The City" project. They include the "2022 BTS Exhibition: Proof," an exhibition that looks back on the septet's nine-year history; stores selling merchandise for the Busan concert; and BTS-themed accommodation packages offered by five major hotels in the city.

Lotte World Adventure Busan, an amusement park in the city, was lit up in purple and is putting on laser and fireworks shows with the band's music until the end of this month.

For fans in Korea and Japan, the BTS concert was also available on TV broadcast channels like JTBC and Japanese TBS Channel 1. It was livestreamed on various online platforms that include Weverse, ZEPETO and Naver Now.

On Weverse, a K-pop fan community platform, the concert was available in eight languages -- Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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