PETALING JAYA: Over a million fans of South Korean K-pop supergroup BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) endured long hours of virtual queues in a frantic bid to secure seats for its year-end concert in Kuala Lumpur.
Long before online ticket sales opened at 10am yesterday, fans had already logged on and joined virtual waiting rooms, with queue numbers climbing rapidly into the hundreds of thousands as anticipation reached fever pitch.
Among the lucky ones was a journalist who wanted to be known as Norman – he secured his tickets after waiting for more than four hours.
“I have been following their music since 2019 and got to know more about their work when BTS members worked on their solo albums.
“This will be my first experience at a BTS concert. I have watched the live concert shows in cinemas and it was truly an experience, but nothing will beat the actual experience in the stadium,” he said.
A seasoned concertgoer who has attended performances by Green Day, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and South Korean band CNBLUE, Norman said the scramble for BTS tickets was unlike anything he experienced before.
“I will feel left out if I missed this show. If I did not get tickets here, I would have tried again during the general sale or even go to Bangkok or Singapore to catch it,” he said.
The intense demand was reflected beyond the ticketing platform, with social media flooded with clips showing cybercafes packed with fans using multiple devices to improve their chances of securing seats.
Checks showed that several hotels near Bukit Jalil were already reporting limited room availability for the concert dates.
A spokesperson for a hotel in the area said bookings had increased significantly following the release of ticket sale details, with rooms taken up quickly for the concert period.
“We have seen a surge in demand for rooms during the concert period, and availability is becoming increasingly limited.
“Many guests are looking to stay close to the venue for convenience,” the spokesperson said.
The rush also saw VIP ticket categories snapped up within hours, adding to the anxiety of fans still inching through the virtual queue.
Another lucky Malaysian fan who wanted to be known as Ain said the prospect of missing out had already prompted “contingency plans”.
Having attended the group’s previous concert in Thailand, she was prepared to travel overseas again if she failed to secure tickets for the Kuala Lumpur shows.
“Bangkok will be my next choice if I did not get tickets here.”
Ain managed to purchase her tickets at about 1pm.
The ARMY Membership Presale is open exclusively to fans with a valid BTS ARMY Membership through Weverse, an app and online platform that manages official fan club memberships for BTS.
(BTS dedicated fanbase is known as ARMY.)
Live Nation Malaysia said the pre-sale ran from 11am to 10pm yesterday, with tickets sold out by 3.30pm.
Trip.com pre-sale will begin at 9am today and general ticket sales will start at 11am tomorrow.
Ticket prices range from RM338 to RM1,288.
The BTS World Tour ARIRANG in Kuala Lumpur will be held on Dec 12 and 13 at the TM Stadium Nasional in Bukit Jalil.
The septet – Jin, J-Hope, Jimin, Jungkook, RM, Suga and V – is currently on the North American leg of its tour, which kicked off in Goyang, South Korea, last month.
