BTS’ Busan concert looms amid purple frenzy

With only two days left until K-pop superband BTS' concert in Busan, the city has flushed into the shade of purple with a series of events taking place to welcome the band and its fans.

The septet is holding its concert "BTS 'Yet To Come' in Busan" on Saturday in its efforts to support and promote Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo.

The city has literally lightened up in purple as landmark spots, from Busan City Hall to the Gwangan Bridge and Busan Tower, gleam in purple every night. The lighting event, titled "Borahae Busan," has been launched by the city government on Oct. 10 and will continue until Oct. 17. The highlight of the event will come with the drone show, which is set to take place at 9 p.m. on Saturday at the Gwangan Beach. "Borahae (I Purple You)" is a word used instead of "I Love You" by BTS and its global fandom, Army.

Hybe, the company to which BTS is affiliated, has also embarked on its own city-wide project to transform Busan into a BTS-themed festival site, “BTS ‘Yet to Come’ The City." First launched at BTS' Las Vegas concert in April, "The City" project extends the concert experience into a broader "entertainment lifestyle," spanning over fields of accommodations, food and beverages, entertainment, to connect the location and the concertgoers.

Marking the start of "The City" in Busan was a special exhibition, "2022 BTS Exhibition: Proof," which kicked off on Oct. 5 at Haeundae's LCT Tower. The exhibition takes the name of the act's latest career-spanning anthology album "Proof" dropped in June, and is taking place simultaneously in Seoul and Busan, with the Busan edition running until Nov. 8.

Beginning Friday, Lotte World Adventure Busan will be revamped into a BTS-themed amusement park, "Purple Lights Up," until Oct. 31. Two photo zones will be each set up in the act's hit songs "Butter" and "Permission to Dance," while the Garden Stage will be decorated into a purple lounge, with BTS' songs and videos playing in the background. The park's iconic Lorry Castle will be painted purple, and parades will be showcasing a special performance of "Butter" during their marches. The park will also offer specially collaborated souvenirs and restaurant menus during the period. An after party for the concert is also set to take place here on Friday and Saturday, where fans can continue the festivity with multimedia shows and fireworks through the night.

On Friday, Paradise Hotel Busan is throwing a party on the eve of the concert. According to the hotel, the pre-event party will take place at the hotel's new building's outdoor garden, where fans will be able to enjoy various video contents of BTS on the backdrop of Busan's night view. Paradise Hotel Busan is one of the five hotels offering the special BTS-inspired package as part of "The City" project.

Official merchandise sales will also begin on Friday at the concert venues. Exclusive goods and souvenirs themed in BTS' Busan gig will be sold out official booths set up in Asiad Main Stadium and the Busan Port International Terminal from Friday to Saturday, and fans can also purchase the items until Sunday at Lotte Department Store's Busan main branch until Sunday.

BTS' concert "Yet To Come" is set to start at 6 p.m. at the Asiad Main Stadium. According to Hybe, the in-person gig is expected to be attended by 50,000 people, while an extra 10,000 will watch the show through Live Play -- a real-time broadcast service -- at the Busan Port International Terminal parking lot. Another Live Play location, where some 2,000 people can watch the show freely without a ticket, have also been set up at the Haeundae beach.

Meanwhile the tickets for the concert and the Live Play screening have been given out free-of-charge to enhance its effect in promoting the 2030 Busan Expo. Hybe and Busan city government anticipates around 100,000 will flock to the city during the period when the concert and the related events take place.