The K-pop icons rocked Canadian apparel, skated with the Maple Leafs and braved one night of torrential downpour on Aug. 22 and 23, taking the stage in Canada for the first time since 2018.
The K-pop superstars returned to the Canadian stage for the first time in eight years upon bringing their Arirang World Tour to Toronto's Rogers Stadium for two sold-out nights on Aug. 22-23, braving heavy rain to treat their ARMY with over two hours of dedicated hits.
The pop stars made tons of references to Toronto and Canada throughout both nights while cycling through countless smash singles including "Dynamite" and "Butter," which both hit No. 2 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. Jungkook swapped the word "honey" for a Toronto name-drop during the acoustic and heartfelt "Into the Sun," taken from their Billboard Canada chart-topping comeback album Arirang, and Jung Kook even referenced one of the group's oldest cuts from 2014, "Tomorrow," singing the city's name to the tune of the chorus.
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During this final leg of the show, the group sported Canadian apparel while sitting together on the edge of their circular centre stage, with V rocking a cap with the Canadian flag, J-Hope wearing a shirt with a Canadian flag patch and RM rocking a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, which he later gave to a fan. RM revealed to the crowd that he got to play hockey with some of the Maple Leafs players during his stay in Toronto, after posting himself wearing the team's full equipment on Instagram earlier this week.
"I played hockey with Suga by the teaching of the Toronto Maple Leafs legends and it was super fun," he explained. "Also, I rode a boat with J-Hope and I got this hat from the captain. Toronto is so beautiful, people are so nice and kind. Some ARMY in the street gave me white flowers and it was so romantic. I love you and I hope you had a good night tonight!"
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The first of both concerts was defined by a downpour that began with thunderstorms which almost put the show's fate at risk, until Rogers Stadium displayed "good news" on its venue screens, leaving the packed house of 50,000 (many already on the premises) elated by the fact that the show would take place as planned.
The weather created a cinematic backdrop for special moments like the orchestral intro to "Outro: Wings," which was the first concert's surprise song along with "Dope." That same night, the BTS boys even jokingly covered the Weather Girls' classic disco hit "It's Raining Men," for which the crowd eagerly joined in. Instead of being a hurdle, the rain wound up being a defining, memorable factor for the group's sole Canadian stop.
"Yesterday and today was different weather, but one thing is for sure, they were both perfect performances," Jung Kook told the audience in Korean. "It was perfect. It was great. I know it's not our first time in Canada, but it was our first big concert and I will make sure that we come back," he said, receiving an ovation from the audience.
The second night was a musical treat for the BTS fandom, who illuminated the Downsview venue for the tour debut of 2018's "Outro: Tear" and 2020's "00:00 (Zero O'Clock)," two first-time surprise songs. RM even gave a heartfelt address to the crowd explaining both tracks' significance to him.
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"When I was working on the tracks, I was really in a bad time just fighting stuff, fighting demons," he said. "But it's really great to see you guys again in 2026, after all this [has] gone, and singing to the lyrics with you guys. Last night it was raining and tonight it's so clean, you know. Life is like this. I love you. I'll never forget this night thank you Toronto. I love you so much."
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The group ran across the Toronto stadium and capped off the night with a slew of fireworks, making an epic stadium debut in Canada that reflects their global superstar status, and especially their meteoric rise since last playing in Canada in Hamilton, Ontario in 2018. Even beyond the stadium, the city celebrated by renaming the stretch of Yonge Street between North York Boulevard and Finch Avenue to BTS Boulevard for a month until Sept. 21, continuing the celebration of the biggest K-pop act's return to Canada.
