SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – If you ask city leaders and business owners, it’s kind of a huge deal.
Tens of thousands of K-pop music fans from all over the country are flocking to Tampa this weekend for a chance to see the mega pop-star group BTS perform in the first U.S. stop of their comeback world tour.
“When I heard about it, I cried,” says Suncoast resident and BTS fan Ornella Necesario.
“Now that they are coming here I feel like we did it, we finally did it. We got them here,” says Necesario, who has tickets for all three Tampa concerts Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday.
BTS fans, also known as the BTS Army, have been missing the seven-member group from Seoul, South Korea, for nearly four years as they completed mandatory military service. They then hit the stage to launch their own solo careers.
Previous coverage: K-Pop fans celebrate the return of BTS with a rare performance in Tampa
But now the BTS Army is pumped that the comeback they’ve been waiting for is happening and so close to home. Wara Rollano Torger is a Sarasota native but now lives in Sevilla, Spain.
She is traveling more than 4,000 miles to see BTS perform in Tampa this weekend.
“It’s just so special to see them live and perform in person and then also for them to perform in your home state. It just feels personal and I just wanted to be there and see that,” says Torger.
City leaders in Tampa are bracing for a lot of tourists, traffic and a big economic boost this week.
“The economic impact is going to be enormous,” says Tampa City Council Chair Alan Clendenin. “We’re talking millions, we’re talking people filling up our hotels, filling our restaurants, buying goods and services throughout the Tampa Bay area.”
Yasmin Serrano, co-owner of K-Pop Nabi in Tampa, says it is all hands on deck this week. They expect thousands of tourists and locals to come into her K-pop store to buy up all the BTS merchandise and albums they can get their hands on.
“We’re working on ordering thousands of albums. We have every single BTS album on the way, every solo album and lots of merch so they can prepare for the concert,” says Serrano.
More than 90 semi-trucks filled with BTS staging, lighting, audio equipment and costumes have been parked at Raymond James Stadium since Easter weekend.
Just last week Tampa Mayor Jane Castor showed her excitement for the group’s arrival by lighting up the city purple. Even Tampa International Airport is going BTS with purple lights, BTS ambassadors to greet tourists plus a BTS pop-up store in the main terminal.
“All eyes are going to be focused on Tampa,” Clendenin said.
By the time the tour wraps, BTS will have performed more than 80 shows in 34 cities across the globe.
Necesario has a message for BTS: “Thank you so much for coming to Tampa Bay. You will not regret this. This will be the best show you’ll ever have,” she said.
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