After more than a year of waiting to see what would come of their highly-anticipated Map of the Soul World Tour, BTS have unfortunately canceled the concert tour due to COVID-19 concerns.
BTS’ music company Big Hit Entertainment made the official announcement via Weverse on Thursday (Aug. 19).
“Our company has worked hard to resume preparations for the BTS Map of the Soul Tour, knowing that all fans have been waiting eagerly and long for the tour,” the company said in a statement. “However, due to changing circumstances beyond our control, it has become difficult to resume performances at the same scale and timeline as previously planned. Therefore we must announce the cancellation of the BTS Map of The Soul Tour.”
Big Hit added, “Once again, please allow us to offer our sincere apology to all fans who have waited for the BTS Map of the Soul Tour to resume. We are working to prepare a viable schedule and performance format that can meet your expectations, and we will provide updated notices as soon as possible.”
BTS’ world tour was originally announced in early 2020. The group scheduled 38 concerts throughout North America, Asia and Europe. The tour was set to kick off in April 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. However, before the first date even commenced, the tour was indefinitely postponed.
If you’re wondering how to get a refund for BTS’ Map of the Soul World Tour tickets previously purchased, thankfully the process is relatively simple. Those who purchased tickets will receive an email regarding their refund at the point of purchase.
For those who purchased via Ticketmaster, the company will be issuing refunds automatically within the next 30 days.
Per an email from Ticketmaster: “The good news is that a refund will be processed automatically for you. You should expect to receive your refund within 30 days. Please note: If the tickets were transferred to you, the refund will go to the fan who originally purchased the tickets from Ticketmaster.”
South Korea is currently experiencing a surge in the Delta variant strain of COVID-19. The country has been reporting 2,000 new cases daily despite six weeks of bans on gatherings after 6 PM and social distancing protocols. Only 21.6 percent of South Korean citizens are fully vaccinated. The nation hopes to fully vaccinate 70 percent of the population by October.