Over the weekend, K-pop sensation BTS revealed its plans for a concert in Saudi Arabia this October.
The seven-piece is set to play the 68,000-plus capacity King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, the country’s capital, on Oct. 11, 2019, as one of the last shows on their extensive Love Yourself / Speak Yourself world tour.
Although a number of international artists, including the Black Eyed Peas and Rihanna, have performed in Saudi Arabia before, BTS will be the first act ever to hold its own solo concert at a stadium in the country.
As a result of the announcement, BTS has been criticized by many fans citing the Saudi government’s human rights record.
Much of the “BTS Army,” however, seems to be siding with the Seoul, South Korea-based band.
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In recent and similar events, Mariah Carey became the first-ever woman to perform in Saudi Arabia back in January. The All I Want for Christmas is You singer was targeted heavily by the Saudi women activist group Women For Rights In Saudi Arabia (or WARSA).
Nicki Minaj was also scheduled to perform at the country’s Jeddah World Fest 2019 in July, however, just last week she cancelled the show, claiming she wants to show support for women’s rights, gay rights and freedom of expression.
Carey, 49, as well as other artists, such as Sean Paul and David Guetta, have been criticized massively for agreeing to perform in Saudi Arabia.
Guetta, 51, after remixing a number of patriotic Saudi Arabian songs during a gig in December, was called out by human rights activists over social media for his “ignorance” and not knowing the meaning behind the music he played.
According to many Twitter users, the songs in question were a series of pro-regime songs about the widely unpopular King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
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In contrast to other artists, BTS fans, for the most part, were supportive of the group’s decision to play Saudi Arabia.
This is what some of their supporters had to say via Twitter:
However, there were still a large number of individuals protesting the upcoming gig.
Here’s what some of them had to say:
As of this writing, BTS has not publicly addressed the controversy.
Global News has reached out to BTS’ management, Big Hit Entertainment.
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Following the scheduled concert in Saudi Arabia, the group will be performing three concerts at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium to conclude the extensive Love Yourself / Speak Yourself tour.
Currently, BTS has no scheduled Canadian tour dates.
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