On the 14th of July, BigHit Entertainment announced that their worldwide-known boy group, BTS, would be holding a concert in Saudi Arabia on the 11th of October, in the King Fahd International Stadium located in Riyadh. According to Live Nation, the chairman of GEA, and Hyundai, the concert will be part of the Riyadh Season festival, a festival aimed to help whitewash the country's crimes.

Such crimes include the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, involvement in conflict with Yemen that has left millions starving to death, the criminalization of LGBT people, and the imprisonment of women's rights activists. 

Organizations such as UNICEF and Human Rights Foundation have stayed silent, with only CodePink speaking up (https://bit.ly/2p3tIu8). BBC wrote an article on the situation as well (https://bbc.in/2mFdvdM), along with NME (https://bit.ly/2ofBWPE).

Nicki Minaj cancelled her concert date just earlier this year once she received backlash for it. She released a statement, saying, "While I want nothing more than to bring my show to fans in Saudi Arabia, after better educating myself on the issues, I believe it is important for me to make clear my support for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression."

We demand action regarding this concert in Saudi Arabia. BTS are UNICEF representatives, and we need to know what their End Violence campaign means when their concert in Riyadh contradicts their Love Myself campaign message. We want to know what the group truly advocates for.

방탄소년단이 사우디 리야드 기간에 콘서트를 한다는 것은 #ENDviolence 캠페인을 반대하는 것과 똑같은 것이다. 콘서트에서 얻은 이익금은 결과적으로 예맨을 공격하는데에 쓰게 될것이다. 빅히트는 이런 점들을 의식해야 한다. #방탄_사우디_가지마

‏لا ندعم حفلة جولة 

BTS - SPEAK YOURSELF 

الموسيقية التي ستكون برعاية الهيئة العامة للترفيه - موسم الرياض، في المملكة العربية السعودية بسبب انتهاكهم لحقوق الإنسان في المملكة و خارجها.

¡Nosotros queremos saber porque BTS van aser un concierto en Arabia Saudita si es un lugar que an pasado muchas cosas mal!