BTS Has Postponed North American "Map of the Soul" Tour Dates

Sara Delgado
·5 min read

Updated on March 27:

BTS has officially postponed its upcoming Map of the Soul tour in North America.

The group’s parent company, Big Hit, announced the decision on March 26 with a statement on Weverse. “We would like to inform you that there will be some adjustments to the upcoming BTS MAP OF THE SOUL TOUR - NORTH AMERICA schedule in order to make sure that we put the safety of everyone involved first and foremost,” the company wrote, disclosing that the tour “will be rescheduled to a later date.”

No further details have been announced, but “all tickets will be honored for the new dates.” Big Hit also said it will share details about the new concert dates as soon as they can. The changes, the company insists, are to offer “the best and safest concert experience.”

News of the rescheduling follows the general announcement Big Hit had issued earlier this week, when the company shared it was "anticipating having to make changes" to the tour. For now, the rescheduling only affects North American dates.

ARMYs on Twitter had seen this news coming over the past month as the novel coronavirus outbreak spread across the U.S., and most are just thankful Big Hit is keeping everyone safe — and that the new dates will honor those painstakingly purchased old tickets. As fan Lucy Ford tweeted, "I’m so glad they’re postponing the shows and that the tickets are still valid for whenever the dates are scheduled. My weak hamster heart could not handle ticketing again."

Previously, March 24, 2020:

Amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, BTS's upcoming Map of the Soul tour, scheduled to kick off on April 25 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, is up in the air.

Though no official changes have yet been made to the North American and European legs of the tour, which was announced in late January, Big Hit said in a statement on Weverse on March 24 that they "anticipate having to make changes," which means some fans will likely see their chosen dates postponed.

“We are closely monitoring the situations in the countries and cities that are part of our upcoming tour," Big Hit said on Weverse. "With the global spread of COVID-19, in some countries and cities, the level of unpredictability is becoming higher to prepare for the shows. As a result of the current global circumstances, we anticipate having to make changes to the current tour schedule."

Though the company is working hard to "proceed with the planned performances where possible," the protection of both artists and attendees is the highest priority.

“Any cancellations or rescheduling will be based on a policy of full cooperation with the guidance and directives of national and local governments and concert venues to ensure the health and safety of everyone,” the statement continued. Should changes be made, these will reportedly be announced “separately for each region.”

News of the new potential changes comes shortly after the cancelation of the opening Seoul shows for the tour, originally scheduled for April 11, 12, 18, and 19 at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium. In February, Big Hit announced the four Seoul dates had been canceled to prevent further spread of the virus. “The current global coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has made it impossible at this time to predict the scale of the outbreak during the dates of the concert in April, alongside increasing uncertainty about the cross-border movement of concert staff and equipment,” the company wrote at the time.

Following the Seoul cancelations, and taking Suga’s lead, many ARMYs rallied to donate their concert funds to coronavirus relief. Since the initial donations started, as reported by Reuters, ARMYs have collectively raised over 100 million won, or around $80,600, in South Korea alone.

Since the first confirmed COVID-19 case, on January 20, the situation in South Korea has improved massively, with numbers steadily decreasing since February 29. However, it might be too soon for Big Hit to announce when those Seoul concerts will be rescheduled; in the new statement the company revealed it is already “developing plans to secure dates and venues to hold [the concerts] when the situation stabilizes.”

But the Seoul stops weren’t the only dates affected directly by COVID-19. Ticket sales for the European leg of the tour were also recently postponed in light of the pandemic.

On March 17, Big Hit announced that tickets, originally intended to go on general sale on March 20, would be released on May 1 instead, with ARMY presale taking place a few days earlier. As of now, and despite the postponement of sales, that leg of the tour is still expected to kick off on July 3 and 4 at London’s Twickenham Stadium. But Ticketmaster announced everything “may change depending on the situation.”

The worldwide situation around the COVID-19 pandemic is ever-evolving, and we’ll update this story with new developments.

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue