BTS Return to the UK After Seven Years: Two Sold-Out Tottenham Shows Bring Korean Culture to the Arirang Tour
BTS played the first of two sold-out London shows at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday, July 6, 2026, opening the European leg of their Arirang world tour. It marks the group's first full-lineup UK performance since their record-setting Wembley shows in 2019 — a seven-year gap. The second London date follows on Tuesday, July 7, before the tour moves on to Munich and Paris, then continues through North America, Latin America, Asia and Australia for a total of 88 shows.
Korean cultural symbolism runs through the production
The Arirang tour builds its visual and performance language around traditional Korean culture. As fans enter the venue, the PA plays traditional gukak music while screens display imagery styled after hanji (Korean paper). During the show, "They Don't Know 'Bout Us" incorporates visuals inspired by tal (traditional masks), while "Body To Body" has members and dancers recreate the traditional circle dance ganggangsullae, with crew waving LED flags and ribbons drawing on sangmo (spinning hat-ribbon) imagery. The same song also weaves in a fragment of the folk song "Arirang."
The stage design uses a 360-degree circular layout inspired by Gyeonghoeru Pavilion at Gyeongbokgung Palace, with four walkways and a central stage arranged to echo the four trigrams of the Korean flag, Taegeukgi. Mid-show screens display visuals themed around the taegeuk yin-yang symbol, and another sequence uses intertwined yeonriji (joined branches) imagery to represent love and connection.
Members recall Wembley; RM improvises a lyric for England's World Cup win
Suga told the crowd: "I feel like you all haven't changed in this time. I still feel the same emotion I felt at Wembley seven or eight years ago." RM recalled wearing a cap printed with an image of former Tottenham player Son Heung-min back in 2019, adding: "Then there was COVID, then military service, and now it's 2026 and we're together again."
With England having beaten Mexico in the World Cup the night before, RM improvised a line into "Mic Drop," adding "Congrats on the win for the World Cup," and joked that BTS seem to bring luck to whichever host nation they're performing in: "When we were in Belgium, Belgium won. Now we're in London, and England won too." V called London "my favorite place" and showed off a phrase he'd picked up on the road: "Cheers, mate — that's it, that's the only one I know."