PETALING JAYA – Over a million fans of South Korean K-pop supergroup BTS endured long hours of virtual queues in a frantic bid to secure seats for its year-end concert in Kuala Lumpur.

Long before online ticket sales opened at 10am on June 3, fans – known as Army – had already logged on and joined virtual waiting rooms, with queue numbers climbing rapidly into the hundreds of thousands as anticipation reached fever pitch.

Among the lucky ones was a journalist who wanted to be known as Norman – he secured his tickets after waiting for more than four hours.

He said: “I have been following their music since 2019 and got to know more about their work when BTS members worked on their solo albums.

“This will be my first experience at a BTS concert. I have watched the live concert shows in cinemas and it was truly an experience, but nothing will beat the actual experience in the stadium.”

A seasoned concertgoer who has attended performances by Green Day, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and South Korean band CNBLUE, Norman said the scramble for BTS tickets was unlike anything he experienced before.

“I will feel left out if I missed this show. If I did not get tickets here, I would have tried again during the general sale or even go to Bangkok or Singapore to catch it,” he said.

The intense demand was reflected beyond the ticketing platform, with social media flooded with clips showing cybercafes packed with fans using multiple devices to improve their chances of securing seats.

Checks showed that several hotels near Bukit Jalil were already reporting limited room availability for the concert dates.

A spokesperson for a hotel in the area said bookings had increased significantly following the release of...