A HYBE K-pop festival in India? Here is what is confirmed and what is only reported

If you saw "HYBE K-pop festival in India" on your feed this week and started planning outfits, slow down. There is a real story here, but most of it is still unconfirmed. Here is the split.

What is reported

On 1 October 2026, Music Plus carried a report, credited to India Today, that HYBE, the company behind BTS, is exploring a large-format K-pop festival in India featuring several major groups. The report says cities under consideration include Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Shillong.

That same report is clear that the festival has not been officially announced. There are no dates, no venues and no lineup, and no act has been confirmed. We have not seen any statement from HYBE about a festival in India, so treat this as a company reportedly weighing an idea, not a gig you can book.

What is confirmed

HYBE is very much in India, and that part is on the record.

• HYBE India exists. HYBE launched HYBE India Entertainment Private Limited in Mumbai in September 2025, its fifth overseas headquarters after Japan, America, Latin America and China.
• It is building an Indian girl group. HYBE India's girl group auditions opened in March 2026, and on 2 September 2026 the company launched a second round called HYBE India Audition: Final Call. Online applications are open until 31 October 2026 on the official audition site, for women born between 2005 and 2011, across vocals, rap, dance, acting and modelling.
• The response has been big. HYBE India says applications came in from all 28 states and six union territories, and from more than 1,650 cities across 116 countries. The Final Call round added on ground auditions in eight more cities: Lucknow, Dimapur, Kohima, Shillong, Jaipur, Indore, Goa and Kochi, as The Korea Herald reported.

How to read it

Notice the overlap. Shillong shows up both as an audition city and as a reported festival location, which tells you HYBE is paying close attention to the North East, where K-pop fandom in India has deep roots. A company that has set up an office, run nationwide auditions and is scouting a homegrown group has every reason to test the live market too.

But reasons are not announcements. The festivals fans can actually count on arrive with a date, a venue and a ticketing link. Until HYBE says something itself, this one is a maybe. We will update the moment it becomes a yes.