On the afternoon of Monday, July 20, Constanza Salas felt relief. Once she left the meeting with the Chamber’s Culture, Arts and Communications Commission, she knew that a step forward had been taken. The goal of achieving definitive authorization for BTS shows in Chile was getting closer and closer.
At the event, Salas was one of the representatives of the Chilean ARMYs, the organized fans of the Korean boy band, who presented before the honorable members and the Undersecretary of Sports, Andrés Otero. “After that, we left with the feeling that, yes, this is ready -she says on the phone with Culto-. This is already on the other side of the street because we saw many deputies on our side agreeing with us and defending the cause.”
Just one day later, on the afternoon of Tuesday 21, the news was confirmed. The government authorized the three BTS concerts scheduled for October 14, 16 and 17 at the National Stadium, after the National Sports Institute (IND) concluded the review of the technical reports it had requested at the beginning of July from the production company DG Medios.
Among several aspects, it was reported that the recovery time of the field will be shorter than initially estimated – which was calculated at four months – which still raises an alert about the condition of the field. The most concerned are the Universidad de Chile club and the Chilean National Team, who have scheduled commitments for those days.
For Salas and the ARMYs, the resolution was a definitive relief after weeks of uncertainty. “We thought the answer would come within the week, but suddenly the statement came out. The truth is we were super happy, more relieved. We can resume all the projects we have planned for BTS.”
Salas is a member of the Chile Connected To BTS fandom. One of the many that mobilized nationwide to push for the authorization of the concerts. Not only did they launch an active campaign on social media with the HT #BTSALNACIONAL, but they also gained international support from other ARMYs around the globe.
The convening power of the Chilean ARMYs was noted on July 5. Chilean fans organized a massive demonstration that spread from Iquique to Copiapó, La Serena, Rancagua, Talca, Concepción, Valdivia, Santiago, among others.
That is why the news of the authorization also spread among international fandoms. “Especially on Twitter, there are ARMYs who have reacted positively to this news. They spoke to us from Brazil, the USA, Peru. Also, many are coming to Chile for the concert, so they reacted very happily.”
Salas rules out a celebratory milestone for now. Rather, the local ARMYs will continue with their usual activities, with their usual focus on social aid, considering what has happened in the country with the rain front. “We are positive, but we are also human and we are also thinking about the people who are having a hard time right now. I don’t know if it’s a time to celebrate. I think we are going to help the people who are having a hard time, to do some collection or something.”
BTS arrives in the country at a high point of consolidation of their global popularity, as they have just participated in the halftime show of the World Cup final. Their visit is part of the Latin American leg of their ARIRANG world tour, which marks their return to the stage and has so far been a success with audiences and critics.
The tour kicked off last April and the South American leg is already scheduled for the second half of the year , which will have two shows in Bogotá, three in Lima, three in Buenos Aires, three in Sao Paulo and three at the National Stadium in Santiago for October 14, 16 and 17, which are expected to attract some 200,000 people, as detailed by Culto.
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Therefore, the Chilean ARMYs are already preparing several activities, or fan actions, specific to each concert. Among these, celebrating Jimin’s birthday, which will coincide with the first of the concerts at the Ñuñoa colossus, for which they will build yellow paper hearts and a massive “happy birthday” in Spanish and Korean. They are also coordinating a massive “wave” (starting from the north side of the Pacific to the north gallery) at a specific moment of the show, during the performance of the hit SWIM.
“The projects are already in place,” says Constanza Salas, who has tickets for all three days of shows. “Now we can continue with the projects and what we were doing, because everything was on standby with this uncertainty.”
And although she, for her part, rules out sleeping outside the National Stadium, the chance that some fans will decide to stay overnight to secure a spot exists. “I’ve heard ARMYs are going to sleep at the stadium near the dates.”
For his part, the Presidential Delegate of the Metropolitan Region, Germán Codina, also referred to the coordination around the security measures that the arrival of BTS in Ñuñoa will require. For example, he emphasized a point that is repeated in many of their shows around the planet and that is not ruled out in the capital: when fans sleep in the vicinity of the stadium several days before the event.
Invited to the space From the newsroom of La Tercera, Codina commented: “Happy that the Ministry of Sports has reached a reasonable agreement with DG Medios and that we now focus on seeing what the security measures of the environment are, the circulation of people, how we do to prevent all those people who even stay overnight in the place, because there will probably be many fans who will be in that place.”
He then added: “But this information has already reached us and what we are going to do now is summon DG Medios, the delegation, to agree on details of that nature, but the most important thing is that with the authorization of the Ministry of Sports, the IND, the green light is given and the realization of these concerts here in Santiago is already confirmed, so we are very happy.”
Another entity that also breathes a sigh of relief regarding the fact is AGEPEC, the association that brings together concert producers in the country, including DG Medios. The organization has played an active role in recent days in defending the actions of companies in organizing concerts in Chile, especially after Duco itself said that it was a common practice for many recitals to sell their tickets without having rented the venue. They also went before the Culture Commission of the Chamber of Deputies last Monday, July 20, to discuss the issue.
Regarding the resolution of the Ministry of Sports to provide the National Stadium for the Asian group, Jorge Ramírez, president of AGEPEC, assures: “I believe that what AGEPEC celebrates and values, above all else, is that something we have been proposing for years has been highlighted and made clear: that the venue, the National Stadium Park, needs a protocol for its use and enjoyment. This does not exist; these are contracts that are outdated with respect to commercial custom, they are anachronistic with respect to the global scheduling of shows of this magnitude, such as BTS and others. And that is why in Congress we pointed out many times, with technical grounds, with past contingencies, such as Paul McCartney, Madonna, Metallica, Limp Bizkit’s overnight departure from the National Stadium Park because there was a hockey game, etc. And I believe this offers a huge opportunity for the State and for creative economies, to build a way to have the stadium ready in a timely manner so that both disciplines can coexist.”
Then, Ramírez says: “Finally, the State, the IND, and the National Stadium Park have a technical and operational proposal from the guild, for some time now, and we hope that its implementation can be accelerated. And of course, we are very happy that the BTS event will take place with the enormous productive chain that it entails, apart, of course, from the international prestige that was significantly exposed.”
