Korean Pop group BTS becomes the first foreign artist band to perform a solo stadium show in Saudi Arabia. The band played on Friday (11th of October) in Riyadh at King Fahd International Stadium. The performance was despite criticisms meted to the group for performing in a country condemned for human rights abuses.
The BTS band was invited to play at the concert by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. And just a day before BTS’ performance, major buildings of the country were lit up in BTS’ signature color purple.
The final concert was a total blast with the attendance of thousands of BTS fans. The footage from the concert showed the fans singing along to BTS’ music. And the fans lit up the stadium with lanterns and their mobile phones.
Later, many BTS fans took to social media to share their exciting experiences at the concert and thanked the band for coming to Riyadh to play. Taking care of those fans who were unable to attend the concert, the show was also live-streamed.
These days Saudi Arabia is making attempts to loosen restrictions on many forms of entertainment. Saudi Crown Prince states that he wishes to reform the country in both social as well as economic terms. Recently, Saudi Arabia lifted a ban on women being able to drive.
BTS members RM, Jungkook, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, defended their decision to play in Saudi Arabia in an interview.
“I wouldn’t say it was easy,” RM said.
Jimin said that they were officially invited, and it’s been a few years that they did not perform in the middle east, and the last time they performed was is 2015 in Dubai.