{"id":628719,"date":"2026-05-07T10:57:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/628719\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T10:57:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:57:25","slug":"bts-meets-mexican-president-as-fans-swarm-palace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/628719\/","title":{"rendered":"BTS meets Mexican president as fans swarm palace"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 50,000 fans gather in front of presidential palace as S. Korean K-pop group meets Mexican leader on invitation<\/p>\n

\"BTS BTS and Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum (fourth from right) greet fans as they stand on a balcony of the National Palace ahead of a series of concerts for BTS’ “Arirang” world tour in Mexico City on Wednesday. (Reuters via Yonhap) <\/p>\n

BTS met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum ahead of its concerts in Mexico City, highlighting the group\u2019s massive popularity and cultural influence in the country.<\/p>\n

During her regular morning press briefing, Sheinbaum confirmed to local press that BTS would visit the presidential office Wednesday and greet citizens from the National Palace\u2019s open balcony. She described BTS as a band that \u201calways delivers messages of friendship, peace and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mexican government also honored the group as \u201cdistinguished visitors,\u201d presenting BTS with a commemorative plaque recognizing its influence on Mexican youth and its messages of respect, empathy, diversity and peace.<\/p>\n

\"BTS BTS fans gather at Zocalo Square as they wait for members of the K-pop group alongside Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum to appear on a balcony of the National Palace on May 6, 2026. (Reuters-Yonhap) \"Handout Handout picture released by Mexico’s presidency press office shows BTS fans gathered in front of the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City on May 6, 2026. (AFP-Yonhap) <\/p>\n

The members briefly greeted roughly 50,000 fans gathered at Zolaco Square outside the National Palace, with leader RM expressing gratitude to Mexican fans for the warm welcome ahead of the group\u2019s upcoming concerts.<\/p>\n

“Thank you so much for having us. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow’s concert. Let’s have fun together,” he said, adding in Spanish, “I love you, I adore you.”<\/p>\n

\"V V of BTS speaks as Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum reacts on a balcony of the National Palace ahead of a series of concerts on the BTS World Tour “Arirang” in Mexico City, Mexico, on May 6, 2026. (Reuters-Yonhap) <\/p>\n

V also addressed fans in Spanish, telling the crowd that both he and the group had “missed Mexico” and praising the energy of local fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe energy here is incredible,\u201d V said. \u201cThank you so much for loving us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the meeting, Sheinbaum shared photos of the visit on social media, writing that she was \u201chappy to welcome the group most loved by Mexican youth.\u201d She added that BTS\u2019 music and values help connect Mexico and South Korea while promoting messages of peace and inclusion.<\/p>\n

The meeting took place ahead of BTS\u2019 \u201cArirang\u201d world tour concerts at Estadio GNP Seguros, scheduled for Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. All three shows sold out shortly after tickets went on sale.<\/p>\n

\"A A picture released by Big Hit Music shows Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum (fourth from right) with BTS at the National Palace in Mexico City on Wednesday. (Big Hit Music) <\/p>\n

When ticket sales opened in January, Sheinbaum had previously described BTS\u2019 upcoming Mexico City concerts as a \u201chistoric moment,\u201d emphasizing how long Mexican fans had waited for their shows.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s visit is expected to generate a significant economic impact. According to the Mexico City Chamber of Commerce, the concerts are projected to create approximately $107.5 million in economic activity.<\/p>\n

Streaming data also reflects BTS\u2019 popularity in Mexico.<\/p>\n

\"A A girl reacts as fans of South Korean K-pop band BTS gather on the day members of the band meet with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, May 6, 2026. (Reuters-Yonhap) <\/p>\n

According to figures released last year by Spotify, Mexico ranked as the fifth-largest K-pop streaming market globally. Within the market, BTS was the most-streamed K-pop artist among local listeners. The group\u2019s 2020 album \u201cMap of the Soul: 7\u201d was named the most-streamed K-pop album in Mexico, while eight of BTS\u2019 releases occupied the top 10 spots on the chart.<\/p>\n

Its 2020 hit \u201cDynamite\u201d was also ranked the most-streamed K-pop song in Mexico since the genre\u2019s global boom. Seven of the top 10 songs on the same chart were BTS tracks.<\/p>\n

The group is currently on its \u201cArirang\u201d world tour in North America, spanning 31 shows across 12 cities. Following three shows at Mexico City, the group is slated to hold five more shows in Stanford, California, and Las Vegas before returning to Busan for a two-day concert in June.<\/p>\n

\"Fans Fans of BTS, known as Army, greet BTS as they appear on the balcony of the National Palace ahead of a series of concerts for BTS’ “Arirang” world tour in Mexico City on Wednesday. (Reuters-Yonhap)
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lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 50,000 fans gather in front of presidential palace as S. Korean K-pop group meets Mexican leader…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":628720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216],"class_list":["post-628719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}