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| HYBE officials speak during a press conference at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Saturday (local time). Courtesy of HYBE |
By Dong Sun-hwa
LAS VEGAS ― K-pop behemoth BTS, which is playing a series of sold-out concerts in Las Vegas, has turned the whole city into a "BTS-themed park" where fans can enjoy the septet's concerts, stay at BTS-themed hotels, visit its photo exhibition and try the members' favorite dishes. And this is only the beginning of a project called "The City" that turns entire metropolises into K-pop playgrounds, according to officials at HYBE, the management company of BTS.
"All artists under the roof of HYBE will be part of 'The City' project, although the scale and the content might vary depending on the singers," Kim Tae-ho, the chief operations officer of HYBE, said during a press conference held at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Saturday (local time).
"We plan to run our project in other cities in Korea and Asia too. We will consider the popularity and the influence of our artists in different regions to make our decisions. ENHYPEN, for instance, is highly popular in Japan, so we will take this into consideration when we plan an event for the group. But we have not yet decided who will be our next artist."
Kim explained that HYBE first mapped out the plan to carry out "The City" project about three years ago.
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| Kim Tae-ho, the chief operations officer of HYBE, speaks during a press conference at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Saturday (local time). Courtesy of HYBE |
"We wanted to enrich fan experiences by giving joy to fans before and after a concert," he said. "And just like the Olympic Games, we wanted to engage an entire city. We made our first attempt at BTS World tour 'Love Yourself: Speak Yourself' [The Final] in Seoul in 2019, offering a range of food and activities at the concert venue. We also helped them save time by allowing them to purchase merchandise online and get them at the venue instead of waiting 10 hours to buy what they want."
After HYBE's first attempt garnered positive reviews from numerous fans, the company planned to kick off "The City" project with BTS' 2020 world tour. But the tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kim, however, added that the pandemic helped the company diversify its content, leading it to figure out different ways to entertain fans without holding live concerts.
"It was quite challenging to build a new network in Las Vegas and prepare for the project in just four months, but thanks to the help of MGM, which operates many hotels in Las Vegas, we managed to do it," he added.
MGM Executive Vice President of Entertainment Chris Baldizan, who also attended the event, added that this is the first time for MGM to create such a large-scale event in collaboration with an artist.
"So many BTS fans traveled all over the world to enjoy BTS shows in Las Vegas," he said. "I could realize how passionate they are. We tried to make sure that they can have a full experience of our city and come back here in the future even after BTS concerts."
The total economic benefit of the project remains to be seen, but Kim projected that it will not deviate significantly from HYBE's expectations.
During the session, HYBE IPX President Rhee Seung-suk revealed that the goal of the new project is to "color different cities with BTS."
"Through the project, we will continue to give more opportunities for fans to interact with artists and make use of technology to enhance their experience. We will also join forces with diverse brands to create synergy."
The conference was also joined by Scott Manson, the president of business solutions at HYBE America, and Lee Jin-hyung, the chief communication director at the entertainment company.
"When we first launch a service, we often face a lot of stumbling blocks," Lee said. "But we believe we will gradually handle them."
