An estimated 50,000 fans of the Korean boy band BTS turned Mexico City’s Zócalo into a sea of purple on Wednesday as the K-pop superstars stepped onto a National Palace balcony alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The appearance — which did not include any singing or music — came one day before the group was to open its “Arirang” world tour at Estadio GNP Seguros. The first of three sold-out shows in Mexico City was set for Thursday night, with others to follow on Saturday and Sunday.
Fans carrying homemade banners and cardboard cutouts of the band’s seven members began arriving at the Zócalo in the late morning to secure spots for the appearance around 5 p.m.
From the balcony, band member RM, whose real name is Kim Nam-joon, said, “Hello, Mexico. We are BTS. Thank you so much for coming to see us. We can’t wait for tomorrow’s concert. I love you, thank you so much.”
Kim Tae-hyung, known professionally as V, followed by saying, “I don’t speak Spanish very well, but I’ll try.” He then delivered a short message in Spanish thanking fans, saying BTS misses Mexico and praising the crowd’s energy.
Then Sheinbaum spoke, revisiting a statement she had made in March about getting BTS to return to Mexico for more shows. Turning to the band, she proclaimed, “I already told you that you have to come back next year,” prompting a loud roar and exuberant chants from the crowd below.
On Thursday, Sheinbaum took it a step further, saying at her morning news conference that “BTS will return to Mexico in 2027. We will announce the dates soon,” adding that the group agreed to review its schedule.
The promise came after widespread anger over ticketing for the May 7, 9 and 10 concerts at the 65,000-seat stadium; tickets for all three shows sold out in less than 40 minutes when they went on sale in January.
Virtual queues swelled to more than 1.1 million users worldwide, and fans reported crashes, stalled orders and error messages during presales and general sales.
Sheinbaum said she wrote to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung asking for help securing more dates — and even exploring a free Zócalo concert — to respond to young Mexicans shut out by the stampede for tickets.
City officials said Wednesday’s balcony appearance was coordinated by Culture Minister Claudia Curiel after those exchanges with officials in Seoul.
Recibo con gusto a uno de los grupos más queridos por las y los jóvenes de México: BTS. La música y los valores unen a México y Corea del Sur. pic.twitter.com/OS39Sp0H6g
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) May 6, 2026
BTS has performed in Mexico City twice before as part of large, multi-artist K-pop concerts.
In 2014, BTS appeared in the KBS Music Bank World Tour at Mexico City Arena, along with groups including EXO-K, Beast and Infinite. They returned to the same venue in 2017 for KCON Mexico, which also featured Monsta X, Red Velvet and NCT 127.
For this week’s sold-out shows, individual tickets originally priced around 5,000–5,500 pesos (US $290-$318) for mid- to high-tier sections were listed on resale sites Thursday for roughly 24,000 pesos (US $1,390). Better seats were listed at more than 100,000 pesos ($5,788) each.
Indeed, for many fans, Wednesday’s five-minute glimpse from the Zócalo may be as close as they get to BTS this time around.
With reports from La Jornada, EFE, El Financiero and The Chosun Daily
