Seeing BTS in London, Days 1 and 2
It has been a few days since I returned back home from my trip and I finally feel able to process and write down about everything. Warning: There might be multiple complaints about the heat haha.
I was originally meant to be travelling down on the day *of* the concert, but decided to travel on the day before with a friend instead. I also changed my hotel rooms to one with air con, which was an absolute life saver. As my friend and I stepped off the train, we were greeted with such a horrid combination of heat and humidity. And it was only going to get worse as the days progressed! We separated ways as she went to her hotel and I met a few friends before making my own way to my hotel. It was quite fun seeing all the different BTS or BT21 merch along the way.
I got my room key, got lost and had to ask a staff member where my room was. It was down a separate corridor but it meant that it was quieter so hurrah! I then laid down on the bed like a starfish for a bit to cool down, with the blessed air con on. After resting for a bit, I then met some more friends for food. The City events around London were cool to see but were way to crowded for our liking, so we just walked around for a bit instead. I then went back to my hotel room to watch the highlights of the British Grand Prix. (True love right there because I was willing to miss it live for BTS haha.)
The next morning I woke up early, got some breakfast and went to pick up my sister from Liverpool Street Station. I don't think either of us got much sleep and we were both suuuuperrr excited. We then met up with one of my friends to pick up some picnic food and travel together to the venue. It was around 12pm around this time but it was already sooo busy. There was a certain sense of urgency on the first day. We just wanted to get there and experience it all!
Once there, we realised that there wasn't much shade or anywhere to really sit to eat, so we decided to walk around a bit. I was a bit sad that, compared to other locations, the Samsung Pin for London was a "spin to win" thing. Rather than just being given it for turning up. Thankfully a friend has already warned me about this, but it still made me sad. The queue was far too long though and it was really hot, with no coverage, so we tried to sit down by the trees. Only to be told that we weren't allowed to sit there. Whilst we were leaving, we heard two people win the pin set so that was cool! We managed to find shelter somewhere else, which coincidently happened to be at a Library!
After a while I needed the bathroom and was kindly directed to a nearby supermarket, where...nearly everyone else was hiding or taking cover from the sun. The queue for the toilets was also massively long, but we were happily chatting away. I was also given some freebies which I highly appreciated. There were some army who crowded people giving away freebies and it wasn't nice to see. On my way out I bumped into some friends and they were also kind enough to give me some freebies for myself and to give out. I then made my way back to my sister and friend, as it was time to go inn! Security and indeed bag checks for both days was pretty much non existent and getting through on the first day took ages because there wasn't enough staff. Once in, I said hello to a few friends and got surprised by another friend who walked all the way to my seat to say hello! I will admit that I forgot that not everyone knows what I look like, so I was saying hello all excited to people and they were "???" until I explained that I was Becca/Wingzie haha. It was so nice to see them in person and to give out hugs! Soon enough it was time for the concert to start...
The concert was INCREDIBLE. There was a girl diagonally opposite me who was streaming herself (and not BTS) the entire time which was slightly distracting, but I was able to ignore it after a while. I saw the drone appear from the top and go towards Jungkook. I saw (and very much FELT) the flames from during Fire. I saw the members sing and dance and have fun. I felt the stadium cheers and moving from the jumping we were doing.
Towards the "microwaving" part of the show, I thought that I saw jikook together but couldn't quite see at the time. I took this rather hilarious photo to try and see if they were, before they were eventually shown on the screen. (I have a rather old phone lol.)
This is one of my favourite photos from the night, because I could tell how much fun jikook were having even when the other members were talking. I honestly felt so incredibly lucky to witness BTS as a whole and Jikook being so cute! After what only felt like a few seconds, it was time to leave. I really didn't want to, but we had the day after too! Getting back to the hotel was difficult because we were directed to the wrong shuttle bus, but a group of us stayed together and made sure we were at least going in the right direction! Back at the hotel, my sister wanted some food so I got her some.
Unfortunately, on my way back near the hotel, a motorbike mounted the pavement in front of me and tried to grab my bag. Thankfully its a "cross" bag, but my silly self side-stepped and actually appologized, thinking that I was somehow in the way. I didn't think for a second that someone was trying to rob me. I was okay though and a massive thank you to the army on-site and online who checked in on me. I didn't want to show my emotions too much as my sister was waiting for me, so I pretended everything was okay and gave her the food. We then went to bed.
The second day was much calmer and there was also a lot more staff. I appreciated that they also had medical staff everywhere and *inside* the pit incase anything happened. Security still didn't check our bags, but it was a lot quicker to get in and away from the sun. Because goshhh it was EVEN HOTTER than the last two days. We had stayed in a cafe for most of the afternoon for food and drinks until it was nearer the time to get in. Another friend was joining us this time and our seats were right where the members come out and left!
The surprise songs and army projects for both days were really fun and somewhat emotional. Especially with the way we sang along, its the real reason why we are all here after all. It was like a home-coming to us and to them. They were afraid of what they would come back to and I am proud of all the countries so far showing them that we stayed.
I honestly didn't take that many photos. I was busy vibing. At one point Namjoon came to our section and waved to us. It was interesting to see how each member engaged with us. How happy they were. I also saw Jungkook "trip"on our side, but I didn't know until I checked that it was when he hurt his back. I do appreciate him for being honest though. We were all aww'ing at him until we got the translation and we all yelled out "noo." I was also a bit confused by BTS' cute little hats on the first day because they kept pointing to them but we couldn't see what it said. It felt like being home though. Somewhere you felt safe to share your shared emotions. To sing out loud, to dance, to cry and cheer.
After the second day I really didn't want to leave but my Dad was waiting to pick us up because my sister had an Open Day at her college in the morning and she wanted me to go with her. Being a Army is something I am proud of, but I also adore how it has helped my (half) sister and I become even closer with our age gap. We had such a great time, with BTS and other army together under the same sky.
I can't say this enough, but thank you.
P.S. I know this got really disjointed towards the end, but so are my memories of it all haha.
