A BLAST FROM THE PAST WITH BANGBANGCON

With the original and much-awaited dates of the “MAP OF THE SOUL TOUR” set to start last month, it would be no wonder that, due to the circumstances we are all under, many ARMYs are feeling at least a little nostalgic and perhaps saddened by the fact that this major event was postponed. Fret not, though! We would like to think that everybody was pleasantly surprised when Big Hit announced “BANGBANGCON”, a weekend-long BTS concert live stream.

Oh, what could we have possibly done in our past lives to deserve such treatment?

During a time where many of us are stuck at home, this was definitely an enjoyable change of pace and undoubtedly something that we never knew we needed. The “BANGBANGCON” schedule included highlights from each tour, dating back from the “Red Bullet Tour” (2014) all the way to the “Love Yourself World Tour” (2018-2019), and to a lot of ARMYs’ surprise, included BTS’ 3rd and 4th Muster events.

The online concert took place the third weekend of April (18th and 19th respectively), starting from 12pm KST and included eight concerts--four on each day--with an intermission between each one. Each of these events featured many cherished moments that both BTS and ARMY have appreciated for a long time, from the comical “House of ARMY” skit that BTS acted in for the “BTS 3rd Muster,” to the vulnerable and touching speeches that the boys have made on stage to show gratitude for the support of their loved ones and of ARMY. Considering how much these seven have achieved in such a short amount of time, it would be easy to lose sight of what the framework and roots of their hard work was.

Nonetheless, this event was, if anything, a moment of reflection for old ARMYs as they reminisced the moments they spent with BTS, and also for new ARMYs as an opportunity to experience--perhaps even catch up on--the content they did not get to see first-hand. It was a pat on the back for every single person watching in seeing what power every ARMY had in being able to help raise BTS to where they are now and the heights we can reach if we continue the support and admiration we hold for them.

By the end of this event, over 500,000 ARMY Bombs were connected using Weverse’s Bluetooth function from 162 different countries, and the stream ranked up a whopping 50 million views by the conclusion of the two-day stream. How’s that for some stats?

There is no denying that this was definitely a refreshing experience for us all, and though it truly cannot match the excitement of an actual BTS concert, this was quite a treat in and of itself, given our circumstances. For now, let’s continue leaning on each other during these times and keep spreading positive energy to the ones around us, while we wait for things to get back to normal and (fingers crossed) to get the rescheduled dates for BTS’ “MAP OF THE SOUL TOUR!”

Written by: Ale

Edited by: Tori

Designed by: Batul Khozema

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