BTS might just be the biggest band in the world. The revered K-pop idols haven’t performed in the United States since a string of shows in Las Vegas in 2022, taking several years off for their mandated Korean military service. But this spring, they’ve returned to the road for a world tour that’s making stops in the Bay Area for three nights with performances at Stanford Stadium. And as one might suspect, members of the BTS Army — the name for the band’s devoted fangroup — are already showing up in droves ahead of the first show on Saturday.
Although there isn’t a show Friday night, Stanford’s stadium was already swarmed with fans as early as Thursday night, with social media posts showing fans camping out ahead of the 10 a.m. merch sale time. Some fans estimated there were over 1,000 people in line as of 7 a.m. Another post showed a diagram that revealed the line wrapping around the track field multiple times. One fan who spoke to NBC Bay Area (KNTV) spent $700 on merch, almost as much as her $800 VIP ticket.
BTS merch line stanford at 7am1000+ ppl 😭 #ARIRANGpic.twitter.com/L3vRi6o2aI
— MB 🦋 (@KillIerr) May 15, 2026
Roughly 150,000 people are expected for the three shows, with SFO even rolling out a welcome station in the group’s signature purple color. The attendance figure exceeds the pair of Taylor Swift Eras Tour concerts at Levi’s Stadium, which drew approximately 116,000 Swifties in 2023. However, last year’s Dead & Company shows at Golden Gate Park actually drew higher attendance, with an estimated 180,000 fans over the course of three days…