As part of their world tour, the South Korean girl group Blackpink greeted their fans in Indonesia with the Blackpink World Tour (Born Pink) in Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Main Stadium, Jakarta. The concert, which was held for two days (March 11-12, 2023), successfully satisfied Blinks (as Blackpink fans are called).
More than 70,000 fans attended the concert. Blackpink became the first K-Pop girl group to hold a solo concert at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (GBK). Thousands of National Police (Polri) and National Army (TNI) personnel were deployed to ensure the event ran smoothly. Concert tickets have been sold from IDR1.3 million to IDR3.8 million (USD85 to USD248) since November 2022.
Blackpink concert conversations over time on social media
There were over 213,000 captured posts related to the Blackpink Jakarta concert on social media from 1 November 2022 until 15 March 2023. The conversation volume peaked during the show, reaching as high as 18,000 posts per day. The same trend can also be seen in Blackpink searches on Google.
Blackpink concert conversation volume (top) and Google search over time (bottom)
How did the fans receive the concert?
Positive conversations about the show comprised 39% of the entire conversation, while 13.8% had negative sentiments.
Positive sentiments mostly came from the fans who posted their happiness and enjoyment watching the concert.
The hype of the concert made many fans go all out with their outfit. Their outfits were dominated mainly by black and pink colors. There were also some posts about outfit recommendations for the concert.
Many food and beverage booths were set up outside the GBK Stadium for the fans to enjoy. Thanks to the event, SME businesses that participated also flourished.
Some issues with the concert
Based on the conversations monitored, the Blackpink concert in Jakarta had some issues, such as:
1. Ticket fraud
The most discussed thing about the concert on social media was the concert ticket which took 23.5% of the total conversation. Many people were selling or buying tickets from other people via social media such as Twitter.
However, this came with the risk of getting scammed. Some netizens posted on Twitter about ticket fraud they experienced when buying tickets from ticket resellers on social media.
2. Not enough seats
Some fans said they did not get seats even though they had the tickets to watch the concert, forcing them to remain standing while watching the show, as there was a discrepancy between the number of seats and the number of tickets.
3. Poor quality of seats
Some netizens voiced their concern as they were disappointed with the poor quality of the seats after they spent so much money to buy Platinum and even VIP tickets.
4. Blurry view in CAT 4 section
Some fans in the CAT 4 section complained the glass partition in this section was blurry, which caused them to be unable to watch their KPOP idols. The ticket for CAT 4 section was the cheapest, and this section was located the furthest from the stage.
5. Traffic congestion
After the concert, traffic congestion occurred in the GBK area as thousands of fans were leaving the concert area. They overcrowded the road while waiting to be picked up, ordering online taxis, taking public transportation, etc.
What can event organisers learn from the Blackpink Jakarta concert?
Overall, the concert was a success. Many fans were satisfied with the show. The venue was beautiful, Blackpink’s performance was terrific, and the show was orderly. Here are some critical insights that event organizers can learn from this concert:
1. Ensure the ticket cannot be resold
To prevent ticket fraud, concert organizers should ensure the tickets could not be resold and should be purchased only through legitimate resources. For example, the organizers should encourage people to buy tickets only from official channels and beware of ticket fraud. In addition, organizers should do random ID inspections, checking that the ticket with the buyer’s name printed on it and matches their ID.
2. Ensure there are enough seats.
Concert organizers should ensure the number of seats tallied with the number of tickets sold in all sections. Preparing some extra seats is always a good idea in case of unexpected problems.
3. Provide better seats for higher-level ticket holders
People bought higher-level tickets despite being more expensive, hoping for a better experience of watching the concert. Therefore, concert organizers should provide better quality seats for Platinum and VIP level tickets.
4. Ensure everyone can watch the concert regardless of their seat section
A good show should be enjoyed by everyone irrespective of the seat section and ticket level. Concert organizers should check the view and ensure the visibility of the stage from all sections.
5. Manage the flow of people before and after the concert.
Thousands of people moving at the same time may cause a problem. Concert organizers should manage the flow of people to minimize traffic congestion before and after the concert. For example, concert organizers can prepare multiple routes for entering and exiting the concert area.
Social listening can help monitor the consumers’ sentiment towards concerts/events, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the event, and gain valuable insights that organizers can learn from.
About the author
Rendy Ezra is an Insights Analyst at Radarr. He is a seasoned analyst backed by years of experience in data analysis. Working at Radarr, he can utilize his expertise to uncover essential insights from social media.
