The protest takes place when the world tour "Arirang" is only more than three months away from kicking off the South American leg, while the performance venue in Chile has not yet been confirmed.
A large number of ARMY (BTS's fandom name) gathered in the center of Santiago (Chile) with banners calling for BTS to be brought to the national stadium.
The wave of protests erupted after the National Sports Institute of Chile (IND) had not yet approved the lease of the national stadium to host three nights of performances on October 14, 16 and 17, 2026.
This is the stop on the South American leg of the "Arirang" world tour, and is also considered one of the most anticipated performances by fans in the region.
Although tickets were opened for sale from April 2026 and quickly sold out, the organizer DG Medios has not yet been able to complete the stadium rental contract due to not reaching an agreement with IND on the organization plan.
According to IND's explanation, the biggest obstacle lies in the scale of the staging. BTS plans to use a 360-degree stage placed in the middle of the field with a total load of about 600 tons. The installation and dismantling process lasted about nine days, requiring covering most of the grass and bringing a large volume of technical equipment into the field.
This agency believes that the above option may affect the quality of the pitch surface, while the national stadium still has to serve many important events from now until the end of the year, including matches of the Chilean national team, Universidad de Chile Club and many sports and community activities. Therefore, ensuring the schedule of matches and maintaining facilities conditions is prioritized.
In addition to technical factors, IND also said that the organizing unit opened ticket sales before completing stadium rental procedures, causing more obstacles to arise in the process of reviewing dossiers.
The incident quickly went beyond the scope of an entertainment event when it attracted the attention of Chilean politicians.
Some opposition MPs demanded clarification of the file processing process and disclosure of documents related to the licensing decision.
According to them, letting a large-scale cultural event fall into a deadlock may affect the national image as well as Chile's event organization industry.
Under pressure from public opinion and the BTS (ARMY) fan community, on July 6, Chilean authorities said they would consider conditional licensing if the organizing unit deploys a field protection system that meets technical requirements. This move is seen as a positive sign, although the final organization plan has not yet been agreed upon.
Arirang" is a tour marking BTS's reunion after all 7 members completed their military service. The tour is expected to go through many cities in Asia, Europe and America.
