BTS Unanimously Selected as La Plata's 'Guest of Honor' with Highest Honors Ahead of October ARIRANG Performance

BTS has been selected as the 'Guest of Honor (Huesped de Honor)' for the city of La Plata, Argentina. During a regular session on the 2nd (local time), the La Plata City Council unanimously passed a motion to appoint BTS as the Guest of Honor.

The core significance lies in the fact that the city-level official honors have been finalized ahead of the local performance in October. Under La Plata city ordinances, the Guest of Honor is the highest level of official honor bestowed upon distinguished visitors or world-renowned masters in the fields of culture and arts.

La Plata City Council Unanimously Approves on the 2nd

The City Council cited BTS's cultural impact, their contribution to promoting the rights of youth worldwide, and their international activities in the cultural sector as reasons for the selection. Local media outlet Infocielo highlighted the unusual nature of the City Council's unanimous vote, highly evaluating the global influence of BTS.

La Plata Performance on October 21 and 23–24

Ahead of the performance, the city of La Plata is also preparing administrative support. Mayor Julio Alak is inspecting public safety and transportation systems to prepare for the large-scale movement of the audience, and the city is coordinating accommodation operation plans in cooperation with the hotel association.

BTS will hold their world tour 'ARIRANG' performance for three days on October 21 and 23–24 at the Estadio Único de La Plata in La Plata, the capital of Buenos Aires Province. This performance marks the first instance of a Korean singer entering the stadium.

'ARIRANG' Holds 2nd Place on Spotify Global Albums for 3 Consecutive Weeks

This selection as Guest of Honor coincides with BTS's recent global chart achievements. With their 5th studio album 'ARIRANG' released last March, BTS recorded 2nd place on the Spotify Weekly Top Albums Global chart (aggregated from June 26 to July 2) for three consecutive weeks.

'ARIRANG' has maintained its position in the top ranks for 15 consecutive weeks, even amidst the comebacks of pop stars such as Drake and Olivia Rodrigo. On that chart, the album has reached number 1 a total of 9 times this year, holding the record for the most number 1 placements this year.

The title track 'SWIM' reached 6th place on the 'Weekly Top Songs Global' chart. A total of 5 songs, including the tracks 'Body to Body', 'Hooligan', '2.0', and 'they don’t know ’bout us', have appeared on the chart for 15 consecutive weeks.

Success has also continued on European charts. As of July 3, 'ARIRANG' reached 9th place on the Offizielle Deutsche Charts 'Top 100 Albums', remaining in the 'Top 10' for 15 consecutive weeks, and is maintaining 37th place for 15 consecutive weeks on the Official Albums Chart Top 100 in the UK.