KPOPWORLD Festival Postponed to 2027 as U.S. Artist Visa Delays Disrupt Touring

The inaugural KPOPWORLD Festival & Worldwide Dance Competition at San Antonio’s Alamodome has been postponed until 2027, with organizers blaming uncertainty over obtaining U.S. visas in time for some of the international artists scheduled to perform.

The four-day event had been scheduled for Oct. 28-31, beginning with a two-day international dance competition before concerts on Oct. 30-31. KPOPWORLD said it made the decision after discussions with its immigration, production and event teams, despite pursuing expedited processing options.

Organizers said proceeding as planned risked presenting fans with a “significantly reduced lineup” because of visa delays and restrictions.

“The most responsible decision is to postpone the Festival and provide sufficient time to deliver the promised experience,” KPOPWORLD said in its announcement.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT regarding the KPOPWORLD Festival that is currently scheduled to take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on October 30–31, 2026.
After extensive discussions with our immigration, production, and event teams, we have made the difficult decision to… pic.twitter.com/9kkyDLNGzS

— KPOPWORLD (@KPOPWORLD) September 18, 2026

The postponement was first reported locally by the San Antonio Express-News. No replacement dates have been announced. Ticketmaster currently lists both the Friday and Saturday KPOPWORLD Festival concerts as postponed with dates to be determined.

Ticketmaster will automatically refund existing ticket purchases to the original buyer and payment method within 14 business days, according to organizers. Fans who bought tickets for the 2026 event are also expected to receive an exclusive presale code before tickets for the rescheduled festival are made available to the general public.

Festival Had Been Built as a Destination Event

KPOPWORLD had positioned the San Antonio event as its first live festival and a destination event capable of attracting fans from across the United States and overseas.

The announced lineup included Jay Park, The Rose, SB19, Jessi, ARTMS, CRAVITY, Xdinary Heroes, Wonho, Dean and Tabber, Heyoon and Dayoung. The accompanying dance championship was expected to feature 32 teams representing 29 countries.

Two-day concert packages originally ranged from a limited number of $100 tickets to $1,200 Super VIP packages. Organizers also marketed ticket-and-hotel packages and encouraged fans to arrange travel and accommodations early for the Halloween weekend event.

That makes the relatively late postponement more consequential than a typical concert date change. The refund announcement addresses tickets purchased through Ticketmaster, but does not address costs fans may have incurred through independently booked airfare, lodging or other travel arrangements.

Artist Visa Problems Increasingly Affect U.S. Touring

KPOPWORLD’s postponement comes amid broader complaints from international performers, booking agents and arts organizations about increasingly lengthy and expensive U.S. visa processing.

NPR reported in July that P-visa petitions used by international performers were taking an average of roughly 11.5 months to review, while O-1 petitions were taking slightly more than a year. Artists and representatives interviewed for that report described canceled dates, shortened tours and substantially higher costs associated with trying to expedite the process.

Other artists have already altered 2026 touring plans over visa problems. Swedish composer Anna von Hausswolff postponed a North American tour into 2027 after her band’s U.S. visas were not approved in time, while other international performers have reported abandoning or reducing U.S. dates amid processing delays.

The federal process has also become more restrictive in several respects. State Department rules that took effect in October 2025 generally require in-person interviews for nonimmigrant visa applicants, with limited exemptions that do not include the principal O and P categories commonly used by performing artists. In July, the department also instructed nonimmigrant visa applicants to schedule interviews in their country of nationality or residence.

For KPOPWORLD, the uncertainty ultimately proved significant enough to push an entire arena-scale festival out of 2026 rather than replace affected performers or move ahead with a smaller lineup.

The company has not identified which artists were experiencing visa problems or how many members of the announced lineup were at risk of missing the event. A new 2027 lineup, dates and ticket onsale schedule have not yet been announced.