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| Members of BTS hold plaques presented by the Busan Metropolitan City on July 19, 2022 to appoint them as official honorary ambassadors to promote the southern port city's bid to host World Expo 2030. Joint Press Corps |
By Ko Dong-hwan
International K-pop sensation BTS is scheduled to hold a concert in Busan Saturday and the city government hopes the event will offer a strong boost to its bid to host World Expo 2030.
Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon held a meeting with city government officials, Tuesday, for a final inspection of preparations for the event. Held at Busan Asiad Main Stadium and streamed live to audiences gathered at separate spots in Busan Port and Haeundae Beach, the concert, titled "Yet to Come in Busan," is being held for free.
"Some 100,000 people are expected to flock to Busan around the day of the concert," said Park during the meeting at Busan city hall. "After pulling off this large-scale event through water-tight preparation, I want the whole world to know that Busan can successfully pull off Expo 2030 as well."
Joining the meeting were the deputy mayor and senior officials from the city government bureaus involved in organizing the concert, as well as representatives of Busan's police force, tourism organization and BTS' management company HYBE.
The concert's main control center will be set up inside Asiad Main Stadium on Friday. In addition to overseeing the show, the control center will be responsible for dealing with any emergencies during the concert.
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| Busan City Hall, left, and Busan Tower on Tuesday are lit in purple, a color representing BTS' fans who are better known as ARMY. Courtesy of Busan Metropolitan City |
Some 1,000 public servants and other workers will be stationed at Asiad Main Stadium to guide spectators. Up to 200 city workers will also be stationed in Busan Port and Haeundae Beach to guide visitors and direct traffic.
Some 200 interpreters will also be stationed at major public transportation hubs throughout the city ― including Gimhae Airport, Busan Station and every metro transfer station ― to provide information to newcomers to Korea's largest port city. The organizers will also monitor local lodging establishments and eateries as part of a crackdown on vendors overcharging visitors.
To accommodate concert-goers and visitors, the city government published a special four-page newspaper, "Dynamic Busan," in English (40,000 copies) and Japanese (10,000 copies). The paper contains helpful information for BTS fans, known as ARMY, and tourists, ranging from free Wi-Fi to places visited by BTS members such as Dadaepo Beach and Busan Museum of Art. The newspaper is available at lodges and tourism hotspots as well as at the city government's website at book.busan.go.kr.
Ahead of BTS' arrival, the city government on Tuesday lit up Busan Tower, Busan Port Bridge, Gwangan Bridge and Nurimaru APEC House in purple, which is the color representing ARMY.
A large-scale drone fleet performance is also scheduled on the day of the concert at 9 p.m. at Gwangalli Beach in Busan's Suyeong District to support the city's bid to host World Expo 2030.
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