BTS Day! South Korean boy group receives Illinois honour ahead of sold-out Chicago shows
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BTS is getting a special welcome ahead of its highly anticipated return to Chicago, with the governor declaring it as BTS Day in Illinois. Read to know more.
BTS is getting a special welcome ahead of its highly anticipated return to Chicago. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has officially proclaimed August 27 and 28 as “BTS Day in Illinois,” coinciding with the K-pop supergroup’s two sold-out concerts at Soldier Field as part of its ARIRANG World Tour.
Illinois officially declares ‘BTS Day’
BTS is about to take over Chicago, and the state of Illinois is making the group's arrival official. Governor JB Pritzker has proclaimed August 27 and 28, 2026, “BTS Day in Illinois", with the dates coinciding with BTS’ upcoming concerts at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The shows are part of the group's ongoing ARIRANG World Tour.
The two concerts are scheduled for 8 p.m. on both August 27 and 28, and both shows are sold out. The governor said BTS’ values align with Illinois' civic ideals and encouraged residents to celebrate the group's visit through music, culture and community advocacy.
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The initiative followed efforts by Chicago BTS ARMY and the HANA Center, an immigrant advocacy organisation, which petitioned for the official recognition.
Major homecoming for BTS in Chicago
The Chicago concerts mark a major homecoming for BTS. The group previously performed at Soldier Field in May 2019 during its Love Yourself: Speak Yourself tour, becoming the first K-pop act to hold a standalone concert at the stadium. Its upcoming performances will be the group's first return to the venue in more than seven years.
With the two shows sold out, BTS ARMY is expected to turn Chicago into a major celebration surrounding the concerts.
Illinois is not the first place on the ARIRANG tour to give BTS a special welcome. Toronto designated the weekend of the group's concerts as “BTS Weekend” and temporarily renamed part of a road “BTS Boulevard". In Maryland, Governor Wes Moore welcomed BTS ahead of its Baltimore concert, while El Paso County, Texas, proclaimed the concert period “El Paso BTS Weekend".
