132 (including shows with matinee and evening showings)
K-Pop Forever! is a tribute actconcert tour featuring music by various K-pop performers as well as music from the 2025 Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters. Produced by Taylor Entertainment, it featured performances by live vocalists and dancers. The tour, which includes stops in cities in Europe and Asia, began on 14 February 2026 in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey and is set to conclude on 30 December 2026 in Montpellier, France.
The tour went viral online after its show in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 19 February 2026 sparked backlash from parents over the quality of the show's performances and its appropriateness for children, believing that the show was solely a tribute to KPop Demon Hunters.[1]
Background
K-Pop Forever! was organized by Taylor Entertainment, a British live entertainment company specialized in producing touring shows that feature tribute performances to various musical acts such as Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift.[2] It was first announced on 24 September 2025 through its official social media platforms, with promotional material featuring animated characters that slightly resemble the characters from the film KPop Demon Hunters.[3][4] Advertised as an "all ages" event, the tour featured live performances of songs from various K-pop musicians, including BTS, Blackpink and Twice, as well as songs from KPop Demon Hunters such as "Soda Pop" and "Golden". These songs were performed by four live vocalists accompanied by four world-class dancers.[5]
The first set of dates for the tour were announced on 26 November 2025, with shows in various different cities across the United Kingdom and Ireland, including the British Crown Dependency of Guernsey in the Channel Islands.[6] On 28 January 2026, the second set of dates were announced, with shows in various cities in Europe (including France, Italy, Slovenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, North Macedonia, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia), as well as new dates in the UK and Ireland.[7] A date in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France was added to the tour on 13 February 2026.[8] Five new dates were announced on 18 March 2026, with shows in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Greece, Slovakia and Kazakhstan, along with rescheduled shows in Bucharest, Romania and Istanbul, Turkey.[9] Additional shows, including those in the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Austria, are set to be announced at a later date.[7][9]
Reception
The SSE Arena, the venue for the tour's shows in Belfast, the first of which went viral online (pictured in 2008)
The tour attracted attention on social media following its sold-out show at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 19 February 2026, where it garnered a mixed reception after parents who attended the show with their children complained that the show was "too mature" for younger fans, many of whom expected that the show would center exclusively around KPop Demon Hunters, saying that some parts of the show were "a little bit raunchy" and "not appropriate for kids."[10] Much of the criticism of the Belfast show were largely focused on its production, including explicit lyrics of the songs performed, the performers wearing skimpy outfits, "sexualized" dancing, and sound mixing issues, with some parents claiming that a performer's microphone did not function properly during the beginning of the show and alleging that some of the performers were miming.[1][11] In an interview with Belfast Live, one parent described the show as a "cash grab," claiming that the performers encouraged the audience to leave positive reviews of the show in exchange for a chance to win free merchandise.[12]
Parents also recalled that the children, most of whom went to the show dressed as characters from the film, began feeling bored and crying, resulting in people starting to leave the arena during the show's interval as songs from the film were performed at the end of the show.[1][13] While describing her experience at the show with her seven-year-old daughter, a parent admitted on BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra that she was not aware that K-pop is a genre of popular music.[1]
However, other attendees of the concert received the show positively, with some parents saying that their children had a "great night."[1] An attendee told TheJournal.ie that her five-year-old niece had "the time of her life" and that it was a "brilliant night," knowing that the show was a K-pop tribute and already expected songs other than those from KPop Demon Hunters were going to be performed.[4][11]
Reaction to the Belfast show spread widely on TikTok, where videos of parents who attended the show attracted large audiences and sparked an intense debate, with some online users criticising the parents and defending the show's organizers and performers, pointing out the parents' lack of research on the event prior to buying tickets and misunderstanding what they had paid to see, as the concert was clearly advertised as a tribute to K-pop music rather than a show focused entirely on KPop Demon Hunters.[14]
In response to the criticism, the SSE Arena and Aiken Promotions (the promoter for the tour's shows in Ireland and Northern Ireland) released a statement on Facebook on 20 February, claiming that "the majority of customers enjoyed the show" and that the show was "an arena-standard tribute to the entire K-pop genre," while also admitting that they "understand that this was not what some expected." In addition, Aiken Promotions said that they took "all customers feedback seriously."[15]
Set list
The following set list is representative of the shows in the United Kingdom. It does not represent all shows throughout the tour.[16]
12345678This stop has two showings, a matinee and an evening show.
↑Labeled in earlier promotional material as being part of the tour's shows in Slovenia. However, it was labeled in newer promotional material as being part of the tour's shows in Croatia.
↑The concert on October 27, 2026, at Romexpo in Bucharest was originally announced to take place on December 8, 2026, but was rescheduled.
↑The concert on November 29, 2026, in Istanbul was originally announced to take place on December 5, 2026, at the Istanbul Congress Center, but was rescheduled and moved to Ora Arena.
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