K-pop entertainment giant SM Entertainment, in collaboration with Frontrow, is bringing SMTOWN Live 2025 to the UK for the very first time as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations.
It will take place at London’s Allianz Stadium Twickenham on June 28. Tickets go on sale at the end of this month – with more details to come.
This is the first time SM’s label-wide concert, SMTOWN LIVE, has been to Europe since 2010’s show in Paris. The trailblazing label is home to some of the planet’s biggest and most influential K-pop stars, including BoA, TVXQ!, SUPER JUNIOR, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, EXO, Red Velvet, NCT 127, NCT DREAM, WayV, aespa and RIIZE.
Leading this first line-up announcement are SUHO and CHANYEOL of EXO, one of the most decorated K-pop groups in history. Over their monumental career, they became the first Korean act to surpass 10 million albums in the 21st Century and the first K-pop group in history to achieve five consecutive million-selling albums.
As of January this year, their total equivalent album sales officially exceeded 35 million worldwide. Their most recent group release, 2023’s “Exist”, continued to break their own records, selling over 1 million copies on release day – a first for EXO and a notable feat for a group over a decade into their career.
NCT DREAM, a subgroup of SM Entertainment’s NCT behemoth, returns to London with SMTOWN LIVE just seven months after their headline show at OVO Arena Wembley as part of their massive 2024 world tour ‘THE DREAM SHOW 3: DREAM( )SCAPE’, which spanned 36 shows across Asia, South America, North America, and Europe.
In between sold-out tour dates, they released their EP “DREAM( )SCAPE” and full-length album “DREAMSCAPE” in March and November last year respectively, with the former becoming Korea’s best-selling album of the year.
WayV, a six-member Chinese subgroup of NCT, also returns to London for the first time since their UK live debut in June 2023. Since then, they’ve released multiple critically acclaimed albums, including last year’s “FREQUENCY”, which broke their own week one sales records and earned them the historic title of the first non-Korean group to win a first-place award on a Korean music show.
RIIZE is a rising powerhouse among new K-pop boy groups, known for their fresh sound and captivating performances. They hit the scene in 2023 and immediately sold over 1 million copies of their debut album “RIIZING”; a year and a half on, they’ve surpassed 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify and show no signs of slowing. SMTOWN LIVE in London marks their first performance in Europe, heightening anticipation even more for this historic moment.
The newest boy group on SM Entertainment’s roster, NCT WISH – the final sub-group of NCT – similarly make their European debut at the London concert. Already named ‘Rookie of the Year’ at Korea’s Golden Disc Awards, they continue to make a name for themselves globally just a year after their debut, even earning a nomination in the iHeartRadio Music Awards’ ‘Best New Artist (K-pop)’ category.
After kicking off with two massive sold-out concerts in Seoul last month, SMTOWN LIVE 2025 will head to Mexico City next on 9 May, followed by Los Angeles on May 11 and after London on June 28, onwards to Tokyo on August 9 and 10.
Both Seoul concert dates sold out immediately upon ticket release, with 40,000 fans in attendance over the weekend on January 11 and 12. The buzz generated online further solidified SM Entertainment’s formidable presence, creating anticipation for the global reach and impact the tour is poised to deliver.
The concert extravaganza brought together a dizzying array of SM artists, past and present, for a history-making line-up that showcases the breadth of the label’s vast history. Performers included KANGTA, BoA, TVXQ!, SUPER JUNIOR, Girls’ Generation’s HYOYEON, SHINee’s KEY and MINHO, EXO’s SUHO and CHANYEOL, Red Velvet, NCT 127, NCT DREAM, WayV, aespa, RIIZE, NCT WISH, naevis and the UK’s own boy group, dearALICE.
The concert also showcased never-before-seen remakes of SM’s signature hits, reinterpreted by senior and junior artists in their distinctive styles.
The reimagined tracks by aespa, NCT 127, NCT DREAM, Red Velvet, RIIZE and more will be available on SM’s forthcoming label album, “2025 SMTOWN : THE CULTURE, THE FUTURE”, out on February 14. Pre-save/pre-order at https://smtown.lnk.to/the_culture_the_future