Festival celebrating BTS’ 10th anniv. kicks off

A two-week-long festival kicked off Monday to celebrate K-pop juggernaut BTS’ 10th debut anniversary, organizers said.

BTS’ 10th Anniversary Festa will be held jointly with the Seoul metropolitan government till June 25 at various places in the capital city, under the slogan “BTS presents everywhere,” the band’s agency, BigHit Music, said.

The septet has annually held the BTS Festa to celebrate its debut anniversary, which falls on June 13, with its fans.

During this week’s festival, major landmarks in Seoul, such as the Sevit floating island on the Han River, the N Seoul Tower in Mount Nam Park, Seoul City Hall, Dongdaemun Design Plaza and the World Cup Bridge, will be illuminated in purple, the color symbolizing the band, or play media facade shows at night.

In addition, congratulatory outdoor advertisements will be put up at the Samseong and Euljiro 1-ga subway stations as well as the busy Teheranno and Myeongdong streets. On the wall of the Hybe building in the Yongsan area, graffiti drawings of BTS members’ portraits will be displayed.

Outdoor advertisements will also be installed for overseas fans in such major cities as New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Osaka.

The highlight of the festival, the main event, will take place at Han River Park in Yeouido on Saturday.

The BTS Festa@Yeouido will offer various programs, including the BTS History Wall, an exhibition of the band’s stage costumes, a sculpture created to mark the anniversary and a booth for getting hands-on experience of tattoo stickers, according to the agency.

Team leader RM will communicate in person with fans at the “ARMY Lounge” at 5 p.m.

A magnificent fireworks display will follow at 8:30 p.m., accompanied by BTS songs and narration from member Jungkook.

Both RM’s talk program and the fireworks display will be livestreamed online.

Fans can purchase the band’s official merchandise at The Hyundai Seoul, a department store in Yeouido, while a BTS stamp zone will be installed at the Lotte Cinema chain theater in Lotte World Tower.

BTS dropped “Take Two,” a new digital single involving the full members, on Friday, ahead of the anniversary.

The song created for its fans topped iTunes Top Songs charts of 92 countries around the world, including the United States and Britain, as well as Spotify’s s Global Top 50 chart.