It’s been three years since BTS last performed in the UAE and despite their rising global stardom, there is one constant that's remained the same: their Army (a nickname given to their fans that stands for Adorable Representative MC for Youth) in the UAE are desperate to see the K-pop boy band return once again.
After it was announced that the popular band would be performing in Riyadh as part of their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself world tour on October 11, fans in the UAE were slightly disheartened with the band being so close yet so far away. In fact, they tweeted out their frustration with the simple hashtag #WeWantBTSinUAE.
Scroll through our gallery above to see BTS through the years
Even though the group didn't make a stop in the UAE (although they did have a brief layover in Dubai while travelling on Emirates to go to Riyadh) that hasn't deterred fans from trying.
Now a new social media campaign has been created by BangtanUAE, the Twitter account to follow for BTS fans in the UAE. The fan group provides constant updates about the band and has helped launch the BTSxUAE Purple Week campaign. They are asking fellow fans to help trend a new hashtag every day until November 1 with the hopes of raising attention to how much fans want to see BTS back in the UAE.
They have asked the Army to help with tweeting these hashtags for the rest of the week as well as topic. Each campaign will start at 7pm:
- #BTSinAD, favourite pic/video from a BTS concert Live performance, on Tuesday, October 29
- #BTSXThinkFlash, show the power of UAE Army online and offline, on Wednesday, October 30
- #BTSxUAEconcert, favourite BTSxArmy moment, on Friday October 31
- #BTSxZayedSportsCity, ideas for concert projects, on Friday, November 1
- #UAEArmyWithBTSForever, thank you letter to BTS, on Saturday, November 2
They’ve also asked for the hashtags to be tagged with the main BTS account as well as Flash Entertainment, DCT Abu Dhabi, Zayed Sports City, Bit Hit Entertainment (the management of BTS) and Abu Dhabi Calendar.
The seven-member band will wrap up their world tour at home in Seoul while the campaign in the UAE continues. Here’s a look so far at some of the best posts from the social media movement with today's hashtag of #BTSTourinUAE and topic of favourite BTS Live performance:
Whether the group or their agency hears them or not remains to be seen. A survey conducted by Spotify however mentioned that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the top streamers of K-pop in the Mena region with BTS being the most streamed K-pop artist regionally.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
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Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
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Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
Red Joan
Director: Trevor Nunn
Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova
Rating: 3/5 stars
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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