BTS Asks Lima Fans to Shun Hotel Before 10 October Show
MUSIC · PERU
Key Facts
- —The country Peru, where BTS, the South Korean pop group, is playing its first concerts: three nights at Estadio San Marcos in Lima on 7, 9 and 10 October.
- —Why it matters The band’s leader, RM, publicly rebuked fans who crowded its hotel in Miraflores, the clifftop district where many foreign visitors to Lima stay.
- —Why now The third and final Lima show is on Saturday 10 October. RM asked fans not to repeat the scenes in Chile, Brazil, Argentina or Asia.
- —What happened On stage on Friday 9 October, RM said flying drones and pointing lasers at the hotel was “not a correct act”, after a fan drone show on Thursday 8 October.
- —The numbers 150 drones were planned for the fan tribute. Police assigned 450 officers to the three concerts, and more than 180 buses run fans home.
- —What it means for you Expect crowds near Larcomar and the Miraflores clifftop, and road closures around the stadium from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next day.
- —Still open Whether Barranco takes action against the drone organiser, and whether fans stay away from the hotel on the last night.
BTS, the South Korean pop group, has asked fans in Lima to stop gathering outside its hotel, before the last of its three concerts in Peru on Saturday 10 October. Its leader, RM, said on stage on Friday night that flying drones and pointing lasers at the building was wrong. The BTS Lima hotel crowds matter beyond Peru because RM said the same thing happens in Europe, Asia and the United States, and in an earlier Weverse message he asked fans to stay away from hotels for the rest of the tour.
The band is in Peru for the first time, on its World Tour ARIRANG. Its seven members are RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook. The authorities expected tens of thousands of fans, mostly teenagers, at Estadio San Marcos in central Lima across the three shows, the state news agency Andina reported.
What RM Said on Stage
RM, whose real name is Kim Nam-joon, spoke near the end of the second concert on Friday 9 October, with the help of an interpreter. Lima broadcasters América TV and Panamericana both carried his words.
“The text I wrote was not only about Peru, or Latin America. It also happened in Europe, the United States; it can happen in Asia too, and it happens often,” he said. He added: “Flying drones or pointing lasers is really not a correct act.”
He also made clear the band holds no grudge against Peruvian fans. “When have we ever told people apart by nationality? Within ARMY and BTS, we are all the same people,” he said. ARMY is the name of the band’s fan community. He closed in Spanish: “Gracias, los amo Perú” (“Thank you, I love you, Peru”).
His remarks followed an earlier message on Weverse, the fan platform the band uses to talk to followers. In it, according to Infobae Peru, he wrote that “the members and the staff are having a very hard time” because of people outside the hotel all day. “The noise even reaches our rooms, so none of us is sleeping well,” he wrote, warning that a lack of rest would affect the shows.
How a Fan Tribute Turned Into a Crowd
The trigger was a drone show on the evening of Thursday 8 October over the Costa Verde, the seafront below the Miraflores and Barranco cliffs. Fans had promoted it as a welcome tribute, with 150 drones drawing the BTS logo and the members’ outlines in the sky, El Comercio reported.
After the show, crowds moved to the JW Marriott hotel next to the Larcomar shopping centre in Miraflores, where the band was reported to be staying. Videos shared on social media and described by Infobae Peru show people surrounding a black van as it tried to leave, while others shouted at them to “behave” and “let them through”. Infobae also reported that residents of Miraflores complained about the noise and traffic.
The Barranco district council said the event had no municipal permit. It said the organiser, a company named as Fanista Flit Perú, never applied for one. Peru’s civil aviation directorate at the Ministry of Transport had cleared the flights themselves, but the council said that did not replace its own permit for an event drawing a crowd. It added that the Barranco Tennis Club, the planned launch site, had been closed for lacking a valid building safety certificate.
Fans Turn on the Crowds
Peru’s organised fan groups have sided with the band. BTS Perú Fanclub, which helped promote the drone tribute, condemned what it called harassment outside the hotel. It said the show ran from 8:00 p.m. to 8:10 p.m. at a different site and never asked anyone to go to the hotel, Infobae reported.
Another account, ARMY Perú, shared on X a post attributed to a South Korean fan account, Eyop Korea, that described the scenes as a “serious invasion of privacy”, Infobae reported. Its claims of lasers aimed at hotel rooms have not been independently confirmed.
The concerts themselves have run in order. The national police assigned 450 officers to the stadium area for the three shows, and Lima’s transport authority laid on more than 180 buses for the journey home, the state news agency Andina said.
What It Means for You
For visitors in Lima on Saturday night, the main effects are traffic and crowds. Avenida Venezuela is closed near Estadio San Marcos from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next morning on concert days, and the authorities advise against arriving by car. Around Larcomar, expect fans and police on the clifftop.
For fans following the tour from the United States or elsewhere, RM’s request applies to every stop. The band moves next to Chile, with three nights at Santiago’s Estadio Nacional, covered in BTS Chile Concerts Set for 14, 16 and 17 October. Ticket and entry details for Lima are in K-Pop Band BTS Plays 3 Sold-Out Shows in Lima Oct 2026.
The episode is also a reminder that the BTS Lima hotel scenes are a security question as much as a fan one. Lasers aimed at windows can damage eyesight, and crowds around moving vehicles carry obvious risks.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether the hotel or the police have changed security arrangements for the final night. No arrests or formal complaints linked to the lasers have been reported. Reports differ on when RM posted his Weverse message; Panamericana dates it to Tuesday 6 October, Infobae to Wednesday 7 October, while his own words on stage suggest Thursday. Barranco has not said whether it will fine the drone organiser, and no one has said whether the BTS Lima hotel crowds will return on the final night.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did RM of BTS say about the hotel in Lima?
On stage on Friday 9 October, RM said flying drones or pointing lasers at the band’s hotel was not a correct act, and that crowding at hotels also happens in Europe, Asia and the United States.
Was the BTS drone show in Lima authorised?
The Ministry of Transport cleared the drone flights, but the Barranco district council said the organiser never applied for the municipal permit needed for an event that draws a crowd.
When is the last BTS concert in Lima?
The third and final Lima show is on Saturday 10 October 2026 at Estadio San Marcos. The band then plays Santiago, Chile, on 14, 16 and 17 October.
Sources: América TV, 10 October 2026; Panamericana, 10 October 2026; El Comercio, 8 October 2026; Infobae Peru, 9 October 2026; Infobae Peru (fan club), 9 October 2026; Infobae Peru (hotel), 9 October 2026; Andina, 9 October 2026
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief