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BTS in Mexico: President Requests More Shows After Rapid Sellout
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum asked South Korea's leader to request extra BTS dates after three shows at GNP Seguros Stadium sold out in under an hour. Ticketmaster Mexico reported 136,400 tickets sold and 2.1 million site visits; Profeco sought transparency.
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum asked South Korean president Lee Jae‑myung to request additional BTS concerts after tickets for three dates at Mexico City’s GNP Seguros Stadium sold out in under an hour.
The shows are scheduled for May 7, 9 and 10. Sheinbaum disclosed the diplomatic outreach on Jan. 26 during her morning press conference. She said she first contacted Alejandro Soberón, director of promoter Ocesa, and then sent a letter to Lee when additional dates were not secured.
“The concerts will be in May, and about a million young people want to buy tickets, but there are only 150,000 available,” Sheinbaum said on Jan. 26.
Three weeks later, Mexico received a reply. Sheinbaum said on March 17 that Lee had been “very receptive” and that the South Korean government had forwarded the request to HYBE, BTS’s management company.
The request came amid complaints about the presale and heavy demand. Mexico’s Federal Consumer Protection Agency, Profeco, asked Ocesa and Ticketmaster Mexico for transparency after fans posted complaints on social media and sent nearly 5,000 emails to the agency.
Ticketmaster Mexico issued a statement saying, “For these BTS shows, 136,400 tickets were sold on our platform, which proved stable, reliable, and secure.” The company added that since the ARIRANG tour announcement more than 2.1 million people had visited its site for BTS information.
Ticketmaster illustrated the traffic in two comparisons: had the sale been physical, the queue would have stretched between Mexico City and the U.S. border (785 to 2,300 kilometers), and the number of site visitors equaled the capacity of 46 shows at GNP Seguros Stadium.
The presidential intervention drew criticism from some members of the Mexican ARMY, who said the move was excessive. “Our request was always the same: clarity in the ticket sales,” Melissa Salinas, a 27-year-old radio host from Sonora and member of ARMY Mexico, told Billboard Español.
Other officials also made BTS’s visit a diplomatic talking point. In late 2025, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy and former foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard met BTS member j-hope during an official visit to South Korea and posted video of the encounter on social media.
BTS previously toured Mexico in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Local business groups flagged the city’s expectations for economic impact. “The visit of BTS is a major event for Mexico,” Vicente Gutiérrez, president of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism of Mexico City (Canaco CDMX), told Billboard Español. Canaco estimated an economic impact of about $107.5 million (1.861 billion pesos), with roughly $88 million (1.529 billion pesos) coming from ticket sales.
The ARIRANG World Tour began April 9 at Goyang Stadium in Seoul. Mexico City will be one stop on the global itinerary. The three scheduled shows in May remain on the calendar as authorities, promoters and fans await any update on added dates.
