What to know
- K-Pop megastars BTS performed at Toronto’s Rogers Stadium for the first time in 11 years.
- However, their show was almost cancelled due to a thunderstorm warning and torrential downpour.
- Despite the rain, fans who attended the show said the rain only made the experience more memorable.
- BTS is set to perform at Rogers Stadium again on Sunday night at 8p.m.
K-Pop group BTS’ first concert in Toronto in over a decade was almost derailed by a summer downpour, but fans refused to let the weather dampen the historic night.
The South Korean megastars returned to the city Saturday night for the first of two consecutive shows at Rogers Stadium. The last time they played Toronto was at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in 2015.
Although the group wasn’t set to perform until 8 p.m., fans were already lining up outside the venue at 5 a.m. A reel posted by Instagram user Steven (s01rice) shows a long line of fans sitting outside Rogers Stadium with lawn chairs and food in the pre-sunrise dark.
That was the calm before the literal storm. Environment Canada issued a yellow warning for severe thunderstorms early Saturday evening, which led to Rogers Stadium delaying the BTS concert.
A concertgoer shared a video of the crowd to the r/Toronto subreddit, confirming the concert still went ahead after the storm cleared up three songs in.
“We met a lot of people who travelled into the city from all over for this. It was a rough time getting there and in with the weather but once it cleared it was a blast and one of my favorite shows here,” Reddit user ReeG wrote in their post.
Instead of focusing on the rain, commenters under the post marveled at the stage setup, commending BTS for placing their stage in the middle of the floor so fans at the back could see.
“That’s really awesome how they put the stage in the middle. I was there for Foo Fighters a couple weeks ago and felt so bad for the people at the back,” one commenter wrote.
Another commenter echoed the sentiment, writing, “This is the only stage I have ever seen at this terrible venue that makes it look like it was worth going to. Should be required you have a 360 stage like this to play there.”
Toronto influencer Sarah Maycurd, who was in the crowd, shared a video of the impressive stage, speakers, and big screen setup to Instagram with the caption, “The stage for BTS is insane”
The storm may have let up, but Toronto’s summer downpour continued into the night — which didn’t deter BTS fans one bit.
Another Toronto influencer who goes by Chase (chsmrtnz) shared to Instagram a clip of all seven members of BTS standing side-by-side performing “Please” in the pouring rain.
“The rain actually made this concert even more memorable despite getting soaked, aching feet and exiting venue a total nightmare. Other than that, the concert was amazing,” commented one fan who also attended the show.
“They were so sparkly I actually didn’t mind the rain,” another fan wrote.
BTS are performing at Rogers Stadium again on Sunday night. The Fan Plaza opens at 4:30 p.m., the stadium itself opens at 5:30 p.m., and BTS is set to take the stage at approximately 8p.m.
