BTS’s Tour Disaster: Everything That Went Wrong With The “2015 Highlight Tour”

Fans didn’t blame BTS at all, just the event organizers.

BTS have always gone above and beyond for their fans, shining on stage and giving their best so fans always get the best experience possible.

BTS during their “Yet To Come” concert | BIGHIT MUSIC

But unfortunately, despite how much effort BTS put into their performances, many aspects of performances and tours are beyond the artists’ control. Such was the case with BTS’s 2015 Highlight tour.

BTS’s Highlight tour was held in North America and organized by TGM Events and the streetwear label Community 54. But although fans were beyond excited to see BTS performing live, there were issues with how the tour was planned almost from the beginning.

The tour went from California to Texas, Georgia, and Canada over the the course of five days. Unlike most tours, fans had to purchase a promotional t-shirt to gain admittance to attend the Highlight tour. Buying a t-shirt that costs $70 USD would include both admission to the concert and a hi-touch event. And buying a $50 USD t-shirt would grant you admission to the concert.

At the first stop of the tour, in California, there was an issue with how fans filed into the venue. The VIP ticket holders weren’t given a specific time to enter the venue, which led to non-VIP ticket holders filling in the seats “reserved” for VIP ticket holders. Fan accounts also claimed that some fans who didn’t pay for hi-touch were given the opportunity to have hi-touch, which led to extra-long wait times for those who had paid for the opportunity.

And then, in Texas, the venue ran out of posters for BTS to sign, leaving the group to sign pieces of paper for fans instead. There was even an issue with BTS’s microphones.

A picture of BTS at one of the venues with fans | Pann

One fan account even shared what was reportedly one of the staff members flipping fans off.

Another issue with the shows was the number of tickets sold versus the venue size. At the Georgia concert, around 100 fans were left outside in the rain since they could not enter the venue. Initially, these fans were told to keep waiting so they could still participate in the hi-touch event…

But before they could enter the venue, after waiting two and a half hours, they were told that BTS had already left. Later it was revealed that BTS and Big Hit Entertainment weren’t informed about the fans waiting in the rain.

Given all the difficulties during the previous stops of the tour, fans tried to make sure everything was organized for the last stop of the tour. While security was helpful in their efforts, other staff kept fans waiting outside for a long time with no explanation.

After multiple fans’ accounts of the tour went viral, netizens voiced their shock at how poorly arranged the entire tour was.

Of course, BTS gave their all to every stop on the Highlight tour, and the issues were in no way their fault, but fortunately, their other tours have gone much smoother since.

BTS

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