BTS already confirmed in July that we can look forward to a new album and a world tour next year. Since then, the rumor mill has been buzzing, because fans of course can hardly wait to learn more. Let's take a look at the latest developments together and separate fact from rumor!
On July 1, the 7 members of BTS themselves confirmed in a live stream that they have been working on new music together since July 2025. On August 22, RM checked in with his fans once more via Weverse and confirmed that he is currently living, playing and working in Los Angeles with the others. He doesn't know yet what the next album will look like, but we're sure he'll figure it out together with Jungkook, Suga and the rest very soon. The new album is the first since “Proof”, which was released in June 2022, more than 3 years ago.
There are rumors that it will hit the market in March 2026, but so far it has only been confirmed that it will be finished in the first half of the year.
MOST OF THE RUMORS REVOLVE AROUND THE 2026 WORLD TOUR!
The last BTS world tour was “Permission to Dance on Stage” in 2022, which however only included concerts in South Korea and the USA. The boy group performing in Europe was even 7 years ago. As part of the 2018-2019 “Love Yourself” World Tour, BTS visited England, Germany, France and the Netherlands for the first time. The guys were actually supposed to return in 2020 with the “Map of the Soul” Tour, but it was cancelled due to the global Corona pandemic and replaced by a two-day online concert in October.
European fans are therefore especially looking forward to the upcoming tour, after all it is very likely that BTS will return to Germany and co. for the first time in many years!
The new tour is supposed to take place next year, after the release of the new album. BTS promised in the live stream in July that they want to visit many different places with the tour. Which ones exactly has not been announced yet, though.
Since the end of September, there have been a few rumors about the scale of the tour:
According to sources such as Naver, THE DAILY Jagran and sportskeeda, the World Tour is supposed to start in May 2026 and run until December. It is said that around 65 shows are planned, offering room for a total of 4 million fans. The average attendance per concert is over 60,000!
These are rumors that have not been officially confirmed yet, but BTS could be about to organize one of the biggest world tours in K-Pop history!
If the numbers are right, the upcoming tour would be even bigger and more successful than the “Love Yourself” Tour, which, including the “Speak Yourself” Stadium Extension, comprised 64 dates and drew 2 million spectators! According to Billboard, it was one of the highest-grossing concert tours by an artist who sings mainly in a non-English language.
Everything points to Europe finally becoming a venue for BTS's spectacular live shows again. Which countries and cities would you like to see on the list? We're keeping our fingers crossed that your wishes come true and will of course keep you posted!
Sources: BTS social media channels, Weverse, Billboard, Naver, THE DAILY Jagran & sportskeeda
