After three years of absence, BTS’s return as a complete group is not merely a musical comeback but is widely regarded as the most significant cultural event of 2026. Major publications—from The New York Times, Billboard, Variety, NME, and Rolling Stone to hundreds of domestic outlets—have all reserved their most prominent coverage for the new chapter of the “21st-century pop icon,” with expectations that “this comeback will be mαѕѕive.”
In South кσяєα, a large-scale promotional installation was erected in front of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, further heightening public excitement. The buzz surrounding BTS’s return even reached New York, where the Empire State Building was illuminated in purple alongside the message “BTS IS COMING BACK.”
This atmosphere has driven public anticipation to record highs. Everyone is eager to see what kind of artistic vision and message BTS will present to continue leading the Hallyu wave and maintaining its unrivaled position in the international market.
Notably, the intense public focus on BTS’s comeback in recent days has been clearly reflected in the repeated outages of major social media platforms following BigHit Music’s latest announcements regarding the seven-member group’s schedule.
On January 14 (кσяєαn time), fans widely reported that both X and Weverse went down simultaneously due to a sudden surge in traffic. The outages occurred as fans rushed to view BigHit Music’s latest announcement detailing the itinerary of the mαѕѕive world tour—nearly 80 shows in total—while also sharing the tour poster.
The tour will kick off with a three-night run at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on April 9, 11, and 12. The band will meet fans worldwide from April 2026 through March 2027, with stops across North αмєяι¢α, Europe, Oceania, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The group will also tour Latin αмєяι¢α, holding performances for the first time in countries such as Peru and Colombia.
BTS will additionally celebrate their 13th anniversary in the port city of Busan, with concerts scheduled for June 12 and 13. More tour dates in נαραи and the Middle East are expected to be announced next year.
This marks BTS’s first large-scale world tour in seven years. Their most recent stadium tour, BTS World Tour Love Yourself: Speak Yourself, concluded in October 2019. The group’s Map of the Soul Tour was canceled following the outbreak of the global pandemic in 2020.
Meanwhile, earlier this month on January 5, after BigHit Music posted its first official announcement regarding the album release plan and the group’s intention to embark on a world tour, Weverse experienced similar overload issues due to heavy traffic—reflecting the overwhelming curiosity of global fans about BTS’s first activities after a three-year hiatus.
Amid the social media congestion surrounding the latest BTS-related news, fans remarked that they could already foresee just how “brutal” the competition for concert tickets would be, even though they had anticipated this from the start. On the other hand, ARMYs expressed cell-by-cell excitement at the online frenzy responding to the group’s return, saying:
- Weverse and even X crashed. OMG, at this rate, how am I supposed to have any hope of getting concert tickets?
- Finally... I waited quietly without complaining, but I really want to go to the concert, so I hope fans whose hearts cooled down just stay as they are.. if people start paying attention or coming back, the competition will get worse
- Honestly, the military hiatus and gap felt so exhausting and hardㅠㅠ but a day like this really comes, my expectations are huge
- I’ve never been more excited and more scared at the same time. Getting concert tickets is going to be a war
- The whole world stopping just because BTS said ‘we’re coming back’—this is their impact
- Y'all really crashed Weverse and Twitter at the same time. BTS AND ARMYs ARE REALLY SORRY
- Ticketmaster is next. OMG the situation is really insane now
- They crashed the platforms with a single announcement. Bangtan’s power is unbelievable
- This is the impact of BTS, the moment they announced their World Tour, they didn’t just break social media; they shook the entire world. I’m not okay!!!!
- Kings are back I expect nothing less. Not our fault these apps can’t handle ARMY’s
- WE CRASHED MULTIPLE WEBSITES GOOD LUCK WITH TICKETING
