BTS Concerts And ‘THE CITY’ Project Generated An Estimated $340 Million For Las Vegas

BTS THE CITY ARIRANG Las Vegas takeover

BIGHIT MUSIC / HYBE

BTS concluded their sold-out Las Vegas shows last month at Allegiant Stadium, with an estimated 260,000 in attendance over four days. Fans lined up for hours to get exclusive merchandise, attend special pop-ups, take photos, and more to celebrate the global superstars.

In addition to their concerts, the superstars teamed up with the City of Las Vegas to become HYBE’s Official Global City Partner Outside Korea for their grand return of BTS THE CITY ARIRANG Las Vegas project. The BTS THE CITY ARIRANG events began on May 21 and ended on May 31 to a resounding success. While the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the official destination marketing organization of Southern Nevada, couldn’t provide the official visitation numbers just yet, they did provide a rough estimate of the economic impact.

Based on several assumptions and ticket counts from Allegiant Stadium (245K for the four combined concerts), the LVCVA research team estimated that the BTS ARIRANG concerts (along with THE CITY ARIRANG events) collectively generated more than $340 million USD in economic impact. The team says they’ll have the official numbers by the end of the month.

The group previously collaborated with Las Vegas during their 2022 PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE – Las Vegas concerts, taking over the city, nicknamed “Borahegas,” as a mashup of BTS’s endearing love term, “Borahae” (“I purpe you”). Those concerts and the collaboration with THE CITY Las Vegas generated an estimated $160-200 million in economic impact in 2022.

Now, four years later, BTS’s return was on a larger and more grand scale, celebrating the group’s latest album, ARIRANG, by painting the tour RED. Across all four concert dates, the city transformed every night from 11 pm to midnight with a full-scale red takeover along the Las Vegas Strip – images of BTS were displayed on all electronic billboards and lights, which changed to red, with approximately 38 major hotel and resort partners across the Vegas Strip and Downtown. The Las Vegas Welcome Sign lit up in red, with a small side panel next to it promoting the BTS takeover. The High Roller Observation Wheel lit up in red. Even the Exosphere turned red, celebrating BTS’s album, playing the group’s track “No. 29” before the display was shown. This marks the first time a single artist has received this kind of reception from the city, aside from the Super Bowl and F1 Grand Prix.

“Through ‘BTS THE CITY ARIRANG Las Vegas,’ we went beyond simply sharing BTS’ music and message to creating an experience deeply embedded in the spirit and culture of Las Vegas itself,” Brandon Yu, President of HYBE Music Group APAC, said in a statement to Forbes. “By integrating the city’s iconic cultural assets, entertainment infrastructure, and vibrant urban landscape, ‘BTS THE CITY ARIRANG Las Vegas’ transformed Las Vegas into an immersive urban playground inspired by BTS. Fans are able to experience BTS’ music and message woven into the fabric of the city in entirely new ways.”

The Las Vegas Monorail, which stretches from the MGM Grand to the SAHARA, received the BTS ARIRANG treatment, featuring a custom wrap with BTS branding that asks, “What is your ARIRANG?” The monorail wrap was removed on Thursday, June 4.

HYBE had many local businesses participating in the THE CITY ARIRANG events, including TOUS Les JOURS, Arte Museum Las Vegas, Gabi Coffee & Bakery, Hobak Korean BBQ, Puffy Cotton Candy, Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, SOYO Korean Restaurant at The Flamingo, and The Corner.

Max Gallegos, Chief Marketing Officer of TOUS les JOURS International Corporation at CJ Foodville USA, worked closely with HYBE to secure TOUS les JOURS as the “Official Bakery Cafe Sponsor” for the THE CITY ARIRANG events. Rather than have a booth at the concert for fans to sample their food, the TOUS les JOURS team thought, why not bring the fans to their local stores? With three franchise locations within Las Vegas (Spring Mountain, Henderson, and Rainbow Rd), TOUS les JOURS transformed their spaces to celebrate BTS with a photobooth, giveaways, samples, and more. With every purchase, the stores gave out BTS THE CITY ARIRANG socks, which Gallegos proudly gives credit to his daughters for the idea.

“We thought the fans would want to experience not only who is partnering with BTS, but also know what the collaboration is, the merchandise, and how we were going to celebrate them,” Gallegos says. “I was very focused on increasing the TOUS les JOURS visibility and introducing customers to our brand. What better way of having them come and experience our bakery environment?”

During the two-week promotions, the TOUS les JOURS bakeries that hosted the fan activations saw a 68% lift in sales and a 62% increase in guest count compared to the week prior. Gallegos attributes it to BTS, “The BTS partnership translated directly into business results. It reinforced for us that fandom, when paired with authentic brand experiences, can become a meaningful retail traffic driver.”

Tony Ahn, CEO of TOUS les JOURS International Corporation, added in a statement, “What made the BTS THE CITY x TOUS les JOURS collaboration so impactful was that it went beyond a traditional pop-up. Our bakery cafés became gathering spaces where fans could connect through music, culture, and shared experiences. The response in Las Vegas drove significant increases in both guest traffic and sales, but more importantly, it showed the power of creating authentic cultural moments that people genuinely want to be part of.”

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas sold an “Our Love Song” combo meal consisting of its K-Town chicken sandwich and a strawberry cheesecake classic shake. Andrew Gullixson, Director of Operations at Black Tap, reported that the combo performed well over Memorial Day Weekend, with more than 1,000 orders.

“We’ve seen a lot of engagement from BTS fans on social media, and it’s been especially rewarding to see that enthusiasm translate into fans coming in to experience the collaboration for themselves,” said Gullixson.

According to local news in Las Vegas, businesses along Spring Mountain Road had seen a boost thanks to BTS’s concerts, calling it the “busiest they’ve been all year.” Even restaurants that were not part of THE CITY ARIRANG events have an economic impact.

THE CITY also collaborated with the ARTE Museum to add an immersive exhibition centered on BTS’s album, ARIRANG. The museum, which will run the exhibition until June 17, sold out of its early time slots throughout the BTS concert week. According to d’strict, the team behind the ARTE Museum welcomed an average of 5,000 daily visitors during the first two weeks of BTS’s exhibition. The exhibition is set to end on June 17.

“The enthusiasm surrounding ARTE MUSEUM X BTS THE CITY ARIRANG has been extraordinary and far beyond our expectations,” says Sean Lee, CEO of d’strict. “The overwhelming response reinforces both the global impact of BTS and the growing demand for immersive, experiential attractions that connect art, music, and culture in meaningful ways.”

With BTS continuing their World Tour across the UK, Europe, North America, and Asia, HYBE could plan more THE CITY events. It remains to be seen, as it does require a lot of planning with the cities and local businesses. The BTS World Tour ARIRANG has already been a boost for HYBE, with estimates that the album and tour could generate more than $1 billion in revenue from album sales, concerts, merchandise, licensing, and live concert streams.

“With ‘THE CITY,’ HYBE continues to expand how audiences engage with artists beyond the stage, creating immersive experiences that connect music, culture, and the city itself,” says Yu. “In this way, ‘BTS THE CITY ARIRANG LAS VEGAS’ serves as a major evolution of the ‘THE CITY’ project and a defining blueprint for the future of large-scale fan experiences.”