BTS plays first Spanish concert in Madrid: 70,000 fans greet K-pop septet at the Metropolitano

The long wait ends

Seven members strode onto a 360-degree stage shortly after 8:20 p.m., launching their first Spanish date with 'Hooligan'. The show was the group's first visit to the country after a planned 2020 concert in Barcelona was cancelled by the pandemic. The two Madrid dates (26 and 27 June) sold out instantly and form the European curtain-raiser for the 'Arirang' world tour.

A return after military service

BTS had paused for almost four years while the members completed mandatory military service in South Korea. The globe-spanning tour restarted on 9 April 2026 in Goyang and has since visited Japan, the United States and Mexico. The new album, 'Arirang', borrows its name from a traditional Korean song that served as an anthem during the Japanese occupation.

The concert experience

The production was built around mass choreography, pyrotechnics and multiple costume changes. A rotating corps of masked dancers flanked the band as they cycled through hip-hop-inflected tracks such as 'Fake Love', '2.0' and 'Mic Drop'. Later sections brought melodic pop ('Swim', 'Mery Go Round') and the English-language hits 'Dynamite' and 'Butter'. The group used the circular stage to walk between risers while cameras captured solo close-ups, a sequence that earned the loudest crowd reaction. No live instruments were visible; all music was pre-recorded.

“The ARMY are on fire!”

Fan atmosphere

The audience, known as ARMY, turned the stadium into a purple sea with light sticks and handheld fans. During 'Body to body', fans executed a planned project, raising purple fans to create a coloured tide across the bowl. A banner unfurled at the end read 'You call, Spain runs. We follow you into the sun'. The noise level frequently drowned out the performers, with many attendees mouthing lyrics in Korean and English.

“It's the first time we visit Madrid and now I think why we haven't come until now. Tomorrow we have another concert here but we'll come again.”

Broad appeal and autonomy

Industry observers and fans note BTS's role in reshaping K-pop. The members hold a roughly 1% stake in their parent company HYBE, an unusual degree of financial independence. Jung Kook, the youngest, has tested the confines of the idol system by displaying tattoos and by broadcasting unfiltered live streams, including one in February 2026 where he admitted having been a smoker. A Spanish fan described the group's evolution.

“Without entering into comparisons, they are to K-pop what the Beatles were to pop, they were born as a teen boy band, but globalised the genre and transcended it.”