US rapper Lil Nas X (center) and South Korean boy band BTS perform onstage during the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2020, in Los Angeles.
Robyn Beck | AFP | Getty Images
South Korean boy band BTS cancelled four shows in Seoul, citing the global coronavirus outbreak.
The popular boy band had been scheduled to perform at the Olympic Stadium on April 11, 12, 18 and 19.
The cancellations come as South Korea reports rapidly rising cases of the virus, which is believed to have originated in China before spreading globally.
Earlier Friday, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the country has more than 2,000 confirmed cases from the new coronavirus, which has so far killed 13 people in South Korea.
In a Friday statement, the band’s label Big Hit Entertainment said the coronavirus “has made it impossible at this time to predict the scale of the outbreak during the dates of the concert in April.” It said ticket-holders will receive full refunds.
Big Hit Entertainment said it had expected 200,000 people to attend the cancelled shows.
The group has broken a slew of records with their chart-topping albums and their music videos have rapidly garnered millions of views on YouTube.
Earlier this month, Spotify announced that BTS had crossed 8 billion streams on its platform.
BTS recently became the first Korean musical act to perform at the Grammy’s, appearing alongside Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus and Diplo.
