The Best Moments From KCON LA 2026 (So Far)
This year's festival officially opened Friday (Aug. 14) at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena.
Los Angeles transformed into K-pop territory this weekend as KCON LA 2026 kicked off at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena. Officially branded “Walk in SOUL CITY,” the festival expanded beyond music to encompass K-pop, K-beauty, K-food, and K-story content, with Olive Young Festa K-Beauty Playground featuring 55 Korean brands as its major debut.
HYBE America marked the opening on Wednesday with an industry party featuring a red carpet, photo booths, cotton candy machines, and performances from boy bands &TEAM, Santos Bravos, and pre-debut girl group SAINT SATINE. The same evening, TOMORROW X TOGETHER's YEONJUN performed a Billboard Live showcase, while &TEAM held a GRAMMY Museum session, where KCON attendee EVAN also appeared.
Retailers such as hello82, KPop Nara, Makestar, and Araise launched near-daily fan events and signings, allowing local K-pop stars like Wonho, ZEROBASEONE, izna, MEOVV, KickFlip, and KiiiKiii to engage directly with their fans. KCON LA 2026's central concert adopts a groundbreaking structure, with daily headliners performing full hour-long sets for the first time in the festival's history.
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
