BTS Takes Over Lima: Three Concerts and a City Full of Surprises

From October 7 to 10, Lima was all about BTS. Three concerts of the ARIRANG tour drew tens of thousands of people, and Peruvian ARMY prepared a welcome you don't see often. Drone shows, birthday surprises, a metro train decorated for Jimin and plenty of fan projects were only part of what surrounded BTS's first visit to Peru. Still, alongside many lovely moments, there were situations where the excitement crossed the line of acceptable behavior.

The first concert took place on October 7 at San Marcos stadium, where BTS was greeted by an exceptionally loud crowd. All seven members greeted ARMY in Spanish, and V shouted “Perú es clave!”, a Peruvian expression used to say something is important and great. Jungkook repeated it after V whispered it in his ear, and the phrase quickly spread across social media.

Outside the stadium, almost as much was going on. The day after the first concert, on October 8, two drone shows were held above the Costa Verde coastline. The first, with 150 drones, lasted about 12 minutes, and the sky showed the BTS logo, the ARMY Bomb and messages in English and Korean in shades of purple. The second, organized shortly before midnight by the fan club PJmusas, was dedicated to Jimin ahead of his birthday on October 13. The sky then showed the number 13, the ARMY Bomb and messages in Spanish and Korean. Media outlets report different numbers of drones, from 150 to more than 200.

Jimin also got a surprise in public transport. Since October 7, one Line 1 train of the Lima metro has been running decorated in his honor. The project “A Train of Love for Jimin” was started by the fan club JIMIN PERÚ 13 in cooperation with Line 1, and the train runs through all 26 stations. It's decorated with photos and messages, along with clouds, stars and a rainbow in gentle blue, pink and lilac tones. The front reads “Happy Jiminday 13.10,” and the cabin also features Chimmy, the BT21 character associated with Jimin.

Waiting for the concerts wasn't easy. Some fans camped outside the stadium as early as the day before, and on the day of the second concert temperatures reached around 28 degrees. Many used umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun while waiting for hours to get in, and Peruvian media also reported cases of dehydration.

Unfortunately, not all of the gatherings were equally lovely. A large number of people came to the hotel where the members were staying, and the noise and crowds disturbed their rest. There were also reports of laser beams aimed at the hotel's facade. The situation became so unpleasant that a few hours before the first concert RM addressed ARMY on Weverse.

He thanked everyone for the love and the warm welcome, but asked that the members and their team be given some peace. He stressed in particular that his request wasn't only about Peru but also about future stops on the tour. We wrote about it in a separate article.

RM spoke about it again at the second concert. He explained that the message wasn't aimed only at Peruvian fans, because he has seen similar situations in Latin America, Europe, the US and Asia. He called drones and laser pointers aimed at the hotel inappropriate, but added that many fans take care not to disturb them. He also stressed that he doesn't want to divide ARMY by nationality, because within ARMY and BTS everyone is the same, and he asked people not to pay attention to inappropriate comments.

Part of Peruvian ARMY responded even before the second show began: the crowd chanted “No vayan al hotel,” meaning “Don't go to the hotel.” During the evening you could also hear “ARMY no acosa,” meaning “ARMY doesn't harass,” and the crowd shouted “Perdón BTS,” which means “Sorry, BTS.”

The second concert, on October 9, also brought many more relaxed moments. After “We are Bulletproof: the Eternal,” V threw out an “Arriba Perú” to the crowd, while Jin and RM praised the audience's energy.

RM also found time to see Lima. On Thursday, October 8, he visited the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site in the Miraflores district and shared photos of the visit on Instagram, including one of him in a colorful Andean hat, a so-called chullo. Jungkook, meanwhile, shared photos from Pantanos de Villa and Morro Solar in Chorrillos.

A particularly emotional moment was Jimin's early birthday welcome. At the second concert the crowd sang “Feliz cumpleaños” to him during a song, and at the last one “Happy Birthday,” to which Jimin responded with “Muchas gracias.”

The third and final concert, on October 10, brought one more surprise. The seven members appeared in traditional Peruvian ponchos and Andean hats, and dressed like that they performed “Come Over,” “Butter” and “Dynamite.”

The farewell speeches were full of gratitude. RM said he was sorry he didn't get to visit Machu Picchu but that seeing Peruvian ARMY was enough for him. V admitted he hadn't known how much people here love them, Suga thanked everyone for three days of fun and called Lima a very cool city, Jin said he loves ARMY forever, and Jungkook promised: “Volveremos,” meaning “we will return.”

Each of the three concerts also brought two surprise songs, so Peruvian ARMY heard six different songs in total.

The return of “Outro: House of Cards” is especially interesting, a song BTS hadn't performed live in years. They announced the surprise with the words “Ahora tenemos algo muy especial,” meaning “Now we have something very special.” The final night also brought “UGH!,” a rap line song. Each night offered something different, from older favorites to songs ARMY rarely gets the chance to hear at concerts.

BTS's stay in Lima showed two very different sides of the group's enormous popularity. On one side, the creativity, effort and warmth of Peruvian ARMY, and on the other, the behavior of some people that needlessly made the members' stay harder. It's important to tell one from the other, because many showed through their actions how much they respect BTS.

After three concerts, many lovely memories remain, a lot of laughter and a few truly special surprises. Peruvian ARMY has every reason to be proud of everything it prepared, and RM's message remains an important reminder that loving BTS also means respecting their peace and privacy.