PRESS RELEASE: 21st-century K-pop icons BTS are bringing an exciting retail experience to Europe in the form of a pop-up that will take place at The O2 in London later this week. The retail experience will run until the 31st of January 2023.
Launching on 9th December in London within Icon Outlet at The O2, the pop-up is BTS’ first post-pandemic pop-up event in Europe; a focal point for reflection on their momentous career.
This BTS POP-UP: SPACE OF BTS IN LONDON is being produced via a partnership between HYBE and FreeCONG.
BTS previously performed a two-day headline show at The O2, the world’s most popular music, leisure and entertainment venue in 2018, wowing fans with their ‘LOVE YOURSELF’ tour. The London pop-up store is located in The O2’s outlet shopping destination, Icon Outlet, on the upper level, where customers will have access to an incredible selection of hundreds of items of official merchandise from the archive of BTS.
The shops will showcase different music-themed merch, including “Black Swan”, “ON”, “MIC Drop”, ”DNA”, ”IDOL” and ”Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey)” as well as rarities and limited editions, such as IN THE SOOP merch. Each area forms an immersive experience, highlighted in iconic colours with “instagrammable” locations that utilise themed backdrops. There will also be a dedicated space for the well-loved TinyTAN characters, and a variety of products inspired by BTS’ hit tracks.
To find out more about BTS POP-UP: SPACE OF BTS and how to reserve your spot in the queue, visit and follow @karnivaljoy on Twitter and Instagram.
BTS POP-UP: SPACE OF BTS IN LONDON details
Location:
Icon Outlet at The O2
Peninsula Square
London
SE10 0DX
Dates:
9 December 2022 – 31 Jan 2023
Operating Hours:
9 December – 14 December 2022
Mon-Sat 10:00 – 20:00
Sun 10:00 – 19:00
15 December – 31 December 2022
Mon-Sat 10:00 – 21:00
Sat, 24th & 31st 10:00 – 16:00
Sun, 25th CLOSED
1 Jan – 31 Jan 2023
Mon-Thurs 10:00 – 19:00
Fri-Sat 10:00 – 20:00
Sun 11:00 – 18:00
Mon, 2nd Jan 10:00 – 20:00
About BTS POP-UP: SPACE OF BTS IN LONDON
BTS POP-UP: SPACE OF BTS is an offline event featuring themed merchandise inspired by BTS tracks such as “Black Swan”, “MIC Drop”, “DNA”, “IDOL”, “Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey)”, and the TV series IN THE SOOP. Shoppers can look forward to hundreds of different merchandise ranging from apparel, accessories, plushies, and even lifestyle items.
About BTS
BTS, an acronym of Bangtan Sonyeondan or “Beyond the Scene,” are a GRAMMY-nominated South Korean boyband that has been capturing the hearts of millions of fans globally since their debut in June 2013. The members of BTS are RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook. Gaining recognition for their authentic and self-produced music, top-notch performances, and the way they interact with their fans, the band has established themselves as 21st-century pop icons breaking countless world records. While imparting a positive influence through activities such as the LOVE MYSELF campaign and the UN ‘Speak Yourself’ speech, the band has mobilized millions of fans across the world (named ARMY), collected six No.1 Billboard Hot 100 singles in a span of a year and just over a month, and performed multiple sold-out stadium shows across the world. They were also named TIME’s Entertainer of the Year 2020. BTS were nominated three years in a row at the 63rd, 64th and 65th GRAMMY Awards and have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards like the Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards (Artist of the Year 2021), and MTV Video Music Awards.
About HYBE
HYBE, rebranded from Big Hit Entertainment in March 2021, is a global entertainment lifestyle platform company that seeks boundless expansion in order to innovate the music industry. Ever since, HYBE has been expanding its multi-label system including BIGHIT MUSIC, BELIFT LAB, SOURCE MUSIC, PLEDIS Entertainment, KOZ ENTERTAINMENT, ADOR, HYBE LABELS JAPAN, while HYBE AMERICA also manages its affiliate labels including Big Machine Label Group. In addition to the label business, HYBE established an integrated structure with its solution business that creates concert, video content, game, original story, and retail, as well as a platform business through Weverse, a global fandom platform. Composed of its three headquarters based in Korea, Japan and the US, the company works towards bringing innovative change throughout the global music industry.
About FreeCONG
FreeCONG, short for Free CONtent Group, is a global production house that was founded in 2017 and acquired by South Korea’s leading live stream platform AfreecaTV in 2018. FreeCONG specialises in developing and producing IP in areas such as digital unscripted series, scripted dramas, films, and esports. The company builds IP-derived commerce, experiential, and virtual businesses that aim to add value to IP holders and fans by expanding the possibilities of enjoying new and existing IP. FreeCONG has produced a hit esports show IP that is being worked into an offline esports exhibition, invested in an original web series IP to build a licensed beverage, has a growing portfolio of scripted dramas that are being considered for global OTT distribution, and working with creator IP to build out unique brand offerings. Between Dec 2021 to Feb 2022, FreeCONG successfully launched the “BTS POP-UP : MAP OF THE SOUL SHOWCASE IN HAWAII”, a standalone pop-up store that brought the BTS retail experience to fans in Hawaii. Moving forward, FreeCONG’s core business is transitioning from being a production house to an IP business, committed to developing and procuring IP to create new experiences and generate additional value for IP holders and customers alike.
About Icon Outlet at The O2
Icon Outlet at The O2, which is owned and operated by the Waterfront Limited Partnership, a joint venture between AEG Europe and Crosstree Real Estate Partners, provides premium outlet shopping with great value on household name brands. Icon Outlet is home to over 60 designer brands with up to 70% off RRP including Adidas, Calvin Klein, Levi’s, Nike, Superdry, Ted Baker, The Cosmetics Company Store and Tommy Hilfiger, all under the world-famous roof of The O2. Located just 15 minutes from central London and open seven days a week, the shopping outlet spans 210,000 sq ft across two spacious levels around the perimeter of The O2 arena and brings customers the latest in athleisure, tailoring, footwear, beauty products, accessories, homewares, gifts and clothing for all ages. The O2 is the world’s most popular music, entertainment, and leisure venue and has been visited by over 100 million people since opening in 2007. Playing host to over 300 events a year, The O2 is home to The O2 arena, which was recognised as Billboard’s ‘Venue of the Decade’ for the 2020’s, and club-sized music venue indigo at The O2. A full-day out destination, The O2 is also home to the roof walk attraction Up at The O2, interactive football experience TOCA Social, London’s largest cinema, Cineworld, the 12-lane Hollywood Bowl, and over 30 bars and restaurants.
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