BTS have cancelled a run of South Korean dates on their forthcoming world tour following the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The popular K-pop boyband were scheduled to play in Seoul this April as part of their “Map of the Soul” tour.
However, the four performances at the Olympic Stadium – on 11, 12, 18 and 19 April – have been called off.
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The entertainment company Big Hit Entertainment announced the news, saying: “Plans for Map of the Soul Tour — Seoul included the involvement of a number of global production companies and a large group of expert international crew, with over 200,000 concertgoers expected to attend.”
“However, the current global coronavirus (COVID-19) has made it impossible at this time to predict the scale of the outbreak during the dates of the concert in April, alongside increasing uncertainty about the cross-border movement of concert staff and equipment.”
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A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
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A view of the empty entrance to the Università Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020.
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Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020.
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Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020.
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A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020.
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A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020.
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Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020.
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A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020.
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A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy.
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An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020.
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A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Reuters
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A view of the empty entrance to the Università Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020.
EPA
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Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020.
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Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020.
EPA
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A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020.
Reuters
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A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020.
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Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020.
AP
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A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020.
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A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy.
LaPresse via AP
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An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020.
AFP via Getty
More than 2,000 people have been infected with coronavirus in South Korea.
BTS are still scheduled to perform at London’s Twickenham stadium on 3 and 4 July 2020.