BTS Launches North American Leg of Arirang World Tour in Tampa

On April 25, 2026, BTS opened the North American leg of the Arirang tour at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The venue’s roughly 60,000 seats were filled for a sold-out show that included the standard setlist and surprise performances of “Permission to Dance” and “Magic Shop,” the latter’s first appearance on the tour since 2019.

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All seven members—RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook—completed South Korea’s mandatory military service in June 2025. Their comeback is anchored by the tenth studio album *Arirang*, a title that references a Korean folk song and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

WUSF - NPR - Tampa

The tour now spans 85 dates in 34 cities through March 2027. After Tampa, BTS will play El Paso (May 2-3), three shows in Mexico City, three at Stanford Stadium in Santa Clara, a stop at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, a European leg in June-July, and a return to MetLife Stadium in August.

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Fans across the United States and abroad attended in the album’s black-and-red colors; Tampa resident Anna Pappas wore a hanbok and praised BTS for breaking K-pop norms, while New York fan Athena Gana said the lyrics helped her cope with COVID-19 loneliness.

WUSF - NPR - Tampa

Jin said the tour was expanded to fulfill fan promises, reach more cities, and maintain touring harmony, and called Tampa “truly No. 1” among U.S. venues.

Inside BTS’ World Tour Setlist: From ‘Dynamite’ to Deep Cuts

Billboard and DailyMusicRoll list a capacity of about 60,000 fans; WUSF projects 180,000 across three nights, leaving the exact figure unverified.

Rolling Stone

• “I think we’ll probably get back into touring harmony without much trouble. All of the members have been wanting to tour so bad; they’ve been going at it with gritted teeth. It’s been tough for me to keep up, but I’ll do my best,” — Jin, BTS member

Rolling Stone

• “I felt it back then, too, but Tampa is truly No. 1,” — Jin, BTS member

Billboard

• “It was really nice to see a K-pop group that was able to break out of the K-pop standards in the industry and actually address cultural issues, that is contrary to what most K-pop artists did, and just to see them thrive,” — Anna Pappas, fan

WUSF - NPR - Tampa

BTS will stay in Tampa for two more nights (April 26, 28) before heading to El Paso, Texas, on May 2-3. The tour will then visit Mexico, California, Nevada, Europe and return for U.S. stadium dates in August, extending the post-military run through March 2027.

Rolling Stone