In mid-October, FN News reported details from a verified industry source: “BTS’s 2026 world tour is expected to span eight months, from May to December, with 65 shows and an au∂ιєnce of up to 4 million. Average attendance per show is expected to remain above 60,000. Operating profits are projected to increase by 100 billion KRW starting from Q2 next year, when the tour begins.”
Shortly after, on October 27, Bloomberg reported globally that BTS is expected to return at the end of March 2026 and will embark on a world tour of 65 shows to reconnect with fans worldwide.
Although there has been no official confirmation from Big Hit Music or BTS, fans believe the reported information is accurate and are extremely excited while awaiting the official announcement of tour locations. Amid this excitement, fans launched a streaming campaign for the 2015 release “Ma City” to draw BTS's attention to the cities where ARMYs live, hoping they will include theses destinations in the map of 2026 world tour.
Notably, this campaign is entirely fan-driven, with no official promotion from BTS or HYBE, yet it had such a strong impact that “Ma City” υиєχρє¢тє∂ly returned to global charts.
Just one day after the #BTSInMaCity campaign began on the 8th (local time), the song climbed to #9 on the US iTunes chart. In 14 other countries, including ḧüńġäŕÿ, Cambodia, Armenia, Belarus, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, Finland, the Bahamas, and Bulgaria, the song reached #1. In ѕιиgαρσяє, it ranked #2, Malaysia #3, Poland #3, Portugal #7, and overall entered the top 100 in 23 countries.
With the song’s message “Come to my city,” fans viewed this as an official invitation to BTS, requesting that their city be included in the tour schedule. Fans not only streamed and purchased the song but also shared personal stories and pride in their hometowns, giving the campaign even more significance. This campaign also clearly reflects the global fans’ intense anticipation for BTS’s 2026 world tour after three years of hiatus.
Meanwhile, the 10-year-old track “Ma City” is a legendary BTS song written out of deep love for their hometown and carries significant historical value. JTBC even produced a program analyzing the song in detail and discussing how BTS influences the world to explore кσяєαn history.
In a report titled “ARMY’s 5·18,” they explained that the lyrics “Everyone dial 062‑518” from “Ma City” drew international fans’ attention and led them to learn about the May 18, 1980 Democratic Uprising in Gwangju. They also cited an English-language blog by a fan named @BTSARMY_Salon that provided detailed information on the May 18, 1980 events, helping international fans gain a deeper understanding of the song’s references.
Many domestic and international ARMYs, after learning about this history, reportedly visited the May 18 National Cemetery in Gwangju, showing that BTS’s influence extends beyond music into cultural and historical education.
Ten years after its release, BTS’s 2015 track Ma City has returned to global charts, demonstrating its enduring value. This time, the song carries an even broader significance, as international ARMYs creatively tied it to their own hometowns.
By linking the song to cities around the world as a way of inviting BTS’s 2026 world tour, ARMYs demonstrated creativity and community spirit. Moreover, the campaign also helped draw attention and increase public anticipation for BTS’s full-group world tour next year.
