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Mexican president asks Lee for more BTS concert dates for her country

Published: 27 Jan. 2026, 12:59 Updated: 27 Jan. 2026, 16:33

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Boy band BTS performs during the ″BTS in Busan″ concert at Busan Asiad Main Stadium on Oct. 15, 2022. [NEWS1]

Even the president of Mexico is aware of the global rush for BTS tickets.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she wrote a diplomatic letter to President Lee Jae Myung asking for more concert dates in her country for the K-pop group's upcoming world tour. She discussed the letter with the press on Monday, saying she sent it due to overwhelming demand from fans.

“Everyone wants to go. Around 1 million young people want to buy tickets, but there are only 150,000 seats available,” Sheinbaum said.

“We have not yet received a response [from Lee], but we hope it will be positive,” she added.

The Mexican government confirmed that it has also spoken with the local concert agency handling BTS's shows.

The band is slated to visit Mexico City on May 7, 9 and 10 as part of its world tour for its upcoming album “Arirang.” The members will perform at the GNP Seguros Stadium, which seats between 50,000 and 60,000 people, on all three dates.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on Jan. 21. [EPA/YONHAP]

Sheinbaum recently described BTS’s previous concerts in Mexico as “historic feats” and called for thorough oversight by authorities to ensure fairness and transparency in the ticket sales process. Tickets for the Mexico leg of BTS’s concerts went on sale on Saturday, and all three days sold out in a record 37 minutes, according to Ticketmaster.

Mexico isn’t the only country with a white-hot interest in BTS. Searches for accommodations in Paris increased 590 percent following the announcement of BTS’s concert dates in the city, according to French daily Le Figaro.

“These remarkable figures demonstrate that the global fandom, known as ARMY, is ready to travel across continents and time zones to see the Korean group's return to the international stage after a nearly four-year hiatus,” a Le Figaro report commented.

People take photos in front of a promotional installation announcing boy band BTS's comeback in front of Sejong Arts Center in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 22. [YONHAP]

The Paris concerts are scheduled to take place at the Stade de France on July 17 and 18.

“Arirang,” which will be released on March 20, is BTS's first album in three years and nine months, following their anthology album “Proof” in June 2022.

The album has already recorded 4.06 million preorders within the first week of sales, according to distributor YG Plus.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]