BTS fans flocked to Stanford Friday to get their hands on the K-pop group’s merchandise ahead of three sold-out shows.
The boy band is slated to perform at Stanford Stadium on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday. Roughly 150,000 fans, known as ARMYs, are expected across the three concerts. Many fans stood on line for hours starting Thursday night, just to buy merchandise.
The wildly popular group has a global fanbase, and this tour specifically is generating a lot of excitement.
This weekend marks the first time the group has been back in the Bay Area to perform since 2018.
In 2022, BTS announced a break to pursue solo projects and fulfill their mandatory service in the Korean military, but they’re back, much to the delight of Bay Area fans.
Palo Alto City Councilman Greer Stone says local hotels are virtually full, which is very rare on weekends. Although it’s too early to tell how much all this spending will produce, recent BTS tours generated more than $100 million for the local economy in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
This is the only northern California stop on this tour.