BTS Returns to Mexico After 9 Years with Grand Opening of “ARIRANG” Tour Ahead of 65,000 Fans

BTS returned to Mexico City after nine years and delivered a spectacular opening show for their “ARIRANG” world tour. The first performance, held at Estadio GNP Seguroros after 8 p.m. local time on the 7th, began amid a sea of over 65,000 Mexican fans whose violet Lightstick filled the night sky.

The group started the show with a track from their new album “Arirang,” titled “Hooligan.” As the first lines, “Watch this, watch this, it’s going Hooligan,” played, fans erupted in loud cheers and joined in singing. Teenage girls sitting in the stands burst into tears and hugged one another. SUGA, a member of BTS, expressed the local fans’ deep longing by saying, “I’m sorry we couldn’t come for ten years despite such intense enthusiasm from you fans.”

Throughout the show, the members communicated with Mexican fans in Spanish to share their emotions. V moved the crowd further by saying in Spanish, “I really missed Mexican fans a lot. I truly love Mexican fans.” RM thanked them for inviting them, while Jimin read a message prepared on his phone in Spanish, saying, “Thank you for listening to our music so much. I didn’t expect it to be this amazing here. We’re having so much fun. It’s the best. We love you more than anyone.”

Hit songs such as “Fake Love,” “SWIM,” “Muse,” and “Dope” followed. As the music resonated from the stadium located at 2,240 meters above sea level, fans waved their Lightstick as if they were in a techno dance venue. The climax of the show came when the album track “Body to Body” was performed. BTS stepped off the stage and walked along the stadium’s tracks to get closer to the fans. During the song, over 50,000 Mexican fans sang the Korean folk song “Arirang” in perfect Korean, creating a remarkable moment. The chorus of “Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo. Arirang goes over the mountain” echoed across Mexico’s night sky.

Even after the show ended after just over two hours, the fans’ enthusiasm remained undiminished. Holding signs that read things like “Bro, I’m now Mexican now,” “We’ll always be here, remember us,” and “Mexico is your home,” the fans chanted the song “Grab Me” from the 2015 album “Flower Road” in clear Korean, pleading for BTS to return to Mexico. As the lyrics, “Hold me tight before I slip away,” filled the square, BTS members repeatedly emphasized “Te amo, te quiero” (Spanish for “I love you”) and promised, “We definitely have to come back to Mexico.” All three shows were sold out, and tens of thousands more fans who couldn’t get tickets listened to BTS’s music from a distance outside the venue.