BTS and LA: Tracing the K-pop group's legendary footprints across the city

As BTS brings its world tour to Los Angeles, the city has declared an official "BTS Week" — and the landmark sites tied to the group's history in LA are drawing fresh attention.

The city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Tourism Board officially proclaimed Tuesday through Sunday "BTS Week" to mark the group's concerts. BTS is performing four shows at SoFi Stadium from Tuesday through Sunday as part of its BTS World Tour "Arirang."

The tour has renewed interest in the LA venues and locations where BTS has left its mark — concert halls, broadcast studios, beaches and music video filming sites. These spaces serve as cultural assets that embody the bond between the group and the city, and illustrate how major events can expand a destination's tourism appeal.

SoFi Stadium, which opened in September 2020, stands as the focal point of BTS's concert history in Los Angeles. The group sold out four shows there in 2021 for "Permission to Dance on Stage – Los Angeles," and returns to the same stage for four performances on the current "Arirang" world tour.

The stadium was built at a cost of about $5 billion and serves as the shared home field of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

The venue features a large canopy roof made from ETFE, a specialized fluoropolymer material. Its semi-open design combines indoor and outdoor elements, maintaining natural light and ventilation while shielding spectators from rain and other weather.

Inside, a massive oval video board called the Infinity Screen spans the full length of the field, equipped with 360-degree, double-sided 4K HDR technology. The system gives all 70,000 seats a clear view of game action and information.

The intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Genesee Avenue in LA's Fairfax District is the site of one of BTS's most iconic street performances. In November 2021, the group performed "Butter," "Permission to Dance" and "Dynamite" on the crosswalk in front of cars stopped at a red light.

Host James Corden told the members, "The world's most famous group has played big live stages, but that was just the beginning — today you'll perform on the biggest stage of your lives," to which the members shot back, "James, that's not a stage, it's a crosswalk" — an exchange that went viral.

Nearby in West Hollywood, Television City is the studio where CBS's "The Late Late Show with James Corden" — a program BTS appeared on multiple times — was produced. Television City opened in 1952 as the world's first facility built exclusively for television production and is operated by an affiliate of Hackman Capital Partners. Known for producing shows including "All in the Family" and "American Idol," the complex received city approval in January 2025 for a $1 billion redevelopment plan to modernize the facility.

Santa Monica State Beach is where BTS members relaxed after wrapping recording sessions for B-sides on their album "Arirang."

Pacific Park, the amusement park on Santa Monica Pier, is the only pier-top amusement park on the West Coast, offering 12 rides including the solar-powered Pacific Wheel Ferris wheel and the West Coaster roller coaster. When BTS visited in 2021, Pacific Park drew attention by lighting the Pacific Wheel in purple in the group's honor. Admission to the park is free, with individual ride tickets ranging from $6 to $20. The beach stretches about 4.8 kilometers and covers 107 hectares of sand.

Crypto.com Arena is where BTS made history in 2019 as the first Korean pop artists to present an award at the Grammy Awards, marking a milestone in the group's global career.

The arena opened Oct. 17, 1999, and is owned and operated by AEG. It serves as the home court for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and the WNBA's Sparks, and hosts the Grammy Awards annually. The venue is equipped with more than 840 flat-screen TVs, a $1.5 million sound system featuring 675 speakers positioned throughout the seating areas, and a $2 million lighting system. Across the street, the 400,000-square-meter L.A. Live entertainment complex houses a 1,001-room hotel along with theaters and dining venues.

The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles officially invited BTS in September 2018 to its Clive Davis Theater for a special program titled "A Conversation with BTS."

The museum runs an ongoing series inviting major artists from the popular music world to discuss their creative process and musical philosophy in depth. BTS was the first Korean act ever invited to participate. The event was held as a closed-door Q&A session with museum artistic director Scott Goldman before an audience of about 200.

The museum's fourth-floor gallery displays donated artifacts including a 7.3-kilogram crystal military jacket worn by Michael Jackson in 1984. The museum also runs permanent installations that use archival Grammy performance footage from BTS, Bruno Mars and others to trace the evolution of audio technology in an exhibit called "From Mono to Immersive," alongside a "Song Tower" showcase featuring memorabilia from popular music creators.

Sepulveda Dam in LA's San Fernando Valley served as the filming location for the "Kinetic Manifesto Film" for BTS's 2020 track "ON." Managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers' Los Angeles District, the dam is designed for flood control — temporarily holding upstream floodwater before releasing it into the LA River at a rate the downstream channel can handle. Four of its eight gates are permanently open, and the highest recorded water level at the site is about 215 meters. Also a filming location for the 1981 film "Escape from New York," the dam's concrete basin floor is accessible on foot via a trail near the 405 Freeway.

To mark BTS Week, the city of Los Angeles lit the exterior of City Hall in red on Tuesday night, matching the signature color of BTS's fifth studio album "Arirang."

Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the administrative heart of the city and one of its most recognizable architectural landmarks. The 28-story building stands about 138 meters tall and blends Art Deco design with classical and Byzantine architectural elements.

From completion until 1958, the city enforced a building ordinance prohibiting any private structure in Los Angeles from exceeding the height of City Hall's tower. As a result, City Hall held the distinction of being the tallest building in the city for roughly 30 years.