nearly four-year hiatus for the boyband.<\/a> This break was largely necessitated by the seven members completing their country\u2019s compulsory military service.<\/p>\nTowards the climax of the two-and-a-half hour, three-act spectacle, band leader RM engaged the packed, decibel-shattering crowd by referencing England\u2019s instant-classic 3-2 win. <\/p>\n
“London, it\u2019s been a while. Congrats on the win last night,” the 31-year-old exclaimed, eliciting a huge cheer.<\/p>\n
He continued, “We always bring the luck to every place. When we were in Belgium, Belgium won, and now in London, England won. You see?”<\/p>\n
BTS last performed in London in 2019, making history as the first South Korean group to headline Wembley Stadium.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CANCI\u00d3N_DEL_VERANO_3_336.jpg\")
The global tour, named Arirang after a beloved Korean folk tune, is the hotly-anticipated comeback for the K-pop boyband, marking the end of a nearly four-year hiatus necessitated in part so that BTS\u2019 seven members could complete their country\u2019s compulsory military service. (AP)<\/p>\n
RM added: \u201c(Being here) gives me a lot of reminiscing. There was Covid, there was military, and now we\u2019re here in 2026 together. I missed you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Groupmate V said: \u201cLondon is the place I like the most. You always go above my expectations. It\u2019s always exciting to perform in front of you, and the (BTS fan group) Army (Adorable Representative MC For Youth) gives me chills down my spine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rapper and producer Suga added: \u201cI don\u2019t think you guys have changed. You\u2019re still a passionate country. I\u2019m still feeling the same emotions I felt at Wembley.\u201d<\/p>\n
BTS\u2019 legions of supporters did not let a sticky evening in north London stop them from fully enjoying the reunion, staged on an innovative \u201c360\u201d in-the-round set with multi-directional spoke-like runways.<\/p>\n
The design of the centre \u201cpavilion\u201d took inspiration from Gyeonghoeru Pavilion in Seoul\u2019s Gyeongbokgung Palace, while the stage floor incorporated visual elements inspired by the South Korean flag.<\/p>\n
![\"BTS\u2019](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2284952216...jpeg\")
BTS\u2019 legions of supporters did not let a sticky evening in north London stop them from fully enjoying the reunion, staged on an innovative \u201c360\u201d in-the-round set with multi-directional spoke-like runways (Getty)<\/p>\n
The first of three \u201cacts\u201d opened with Hooligan from the new album, the group\u2019s fifth, and the simple-but-effective staging of its lead single Swim, around a pool-like round stage in the \u201cpavilion\u201d, circled by fabric \u201cwaves\u201d created by a section of the show\u2019s 50 dancers, was enthusiastically received.<\/p>\n
Fans were also treated to new track Body To Body, which samples Arirang and features a BTS-ified traditional \u201cganggangsullae\u201d circle dance, but the highlight came at the end of act two with the anthemic Idol.<\/p>\n
The 2018 track culminated in an exuberant parade around the perimeter led by BTS and flanked by dancers carrying massive flags and LED ribbons.<\/p>\n
It felt like the perfect celebration of an emphatic return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[10091,6764,2139,173,34942,6355,529,27,6034,674,34944,34943,6767,32626,27880,5],"class_list":["post-78305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-arts-culture-and-entertainment","tag-color-image","tag-concert","tag-england","tag-fan-enthusiast","tag-horizontal","tag-human-interest","tag-london","tag-london-england","tag-music","tag-new-tottenham-hotspur-stadium","tag-performing-arts-event","tag-photography","tag-popular-music-tour","tag-setting","tag-uk"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116878387754552356","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}