Right before the two concert nights of BTS's "Arirang" tour in Baltimore, Maryland Governor Wes Moore posted a video welcoming the group, and directly mentioned the names of 7 members and the ARMY fan community.
In a one-minute video posted on social networks, BTS's song "Butter" was chosen as the background music. Mr. Wes Moore appeared with headphones, sent greetings to the Korean group and successively called out the names RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook.
The Governor of Maryland said that BTS has overcome cultural, regional and linguistic differences to connect fans around the world. Notably, the video has subtitles in both English and Korean. At the end of the video, Mr. Moore mentioned ARMY and called on fans to cheer for BTS.
Governor Wes Moore's greeting quickly received attention from the fan community. Many people expressed surprise when a state-level politician actively sent a message welcoming BTS, while others questioned whether he would attend the group's concert.
BTS will hold two shows at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland (USA) on August 10 and 11. This is the next stop of the "Arirang" tour in North America, after two shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (USA) on August 1 and 2.
Two performances in New Jersey attracted more than 80,000 spectators each night, showing the scale of the tour when BTS returned to operation with a full squad after the members successively completed their military service.
After Baltimore, BTS will continue to Arlington, Texas (USA), before heading to Canada. In Toronto (Canada), the city is preparing a number of welcoming activities on the occasion of the group holding a concert.
According to the plan, a section of the road in Toronto will be temporarily named "BTS Boulevard" from August 21st to September 23rd. This time coincides with the schedule of two nights of BTS concerts at Rogers Stadium in Toronto on August 22nd and 23rd.
The city of Toronto also plans to organize "BTS Weekend" during the group's performance. Some public venues are expected to be lit in purple, a color associated with BTS and the ARMY community.
The fact that the Governor of Maryland sent greetings to BTS and Toronto preparing separate activities for the group shows the appeal of the "Arirang" tour in North America. BTS's stops not only attracted a large number of spectators to the stadium but also received attention from local authorities.
After Baltimore, Arlington and Toronto, BTS will continue their "Arirang" journey through many other cities, as the tour is becoming one of the most noticed music events in North America.
