On Saturday, September 19, 2026, “TMA (THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS) 2026” comes to the Busan Asiad Main Stadium — the first time this major K-pop awards show has been held in Busan. This page rounds up everything known so far — the date, venue, lineup, tickets, voting, and access — plus how to read the announcements still to come.
🎤 TMA 2026 at a glance
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Venue: Busan Asiad Main Stadium (Metro Line 3, Sports Complex Station / capacity ~50,000)
Host: The Fact / Operator: Fan N Star (팬앤스타)
Notable: first edition in Busan, first held in Korea in 3 years (Macau in 2025, Osaka before that)
Lineup & tickets: not yet announced
What Is TMA (THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS)?
TMA = THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS is a K-pop music awards show hosted by the Korean media outlet “The Fact” and operated by the fan-participation platform “Fan N Star (팬앤스타).” First held in 2019, 2026 marks its 9th edition. Winners are decided by a mix of objective streaming and album data (Circle Chart, formerly Gaon), an expert jury, and fan voting — which is why it’s known as an awards show where fans’ support directly shapes the results.
In recent years it has increasingly been held overseas: Osaka (Kyocera Dome) in 2024 and Macau in 2025. 2026 marks a “homecoming” to Korea — in Busan. As for the Daesang (Grand Prize), BTS won it for five consecutive editions from the very first (2020 had two editions due to COVID, and BTS swept straight through to 2022). Since then, SEVENTEEN (2023), aespa (2024), and Stray Kids (2025, Honor of the Year) have each taken the top prize as the act of their year.
When & Where Is It in 2026?
TMA 2026 is a single-day event on Saturday, September 19. The venue, the Busan Asiad Main Stadium, is one of Busan’s largest outdoor stadiums, seating around 50,000, with Metro Line 3’s Sports Complex Station as the nearest stop.
How to reach the venue from each part of the city, and how to beat the post-show crowds on the way back, are covered on a separate page. Worth checking before you travel.
Who’s Performing? (Expected Announcement Schedule)
As of late June, the 2026 lineup has not yet been announced. That said, past patterns give a fair sense of roughly when, and in what order, names tend to drop.
Past announcement pattern (2024 Osaka, 2025 Macau)
• The first lineup drops about 7–10 weeks before the show (2024 = Jul 22, 2025 = Jul 8)
• After that, names are revealed in weekly waves (roughly one a week)
• The biggest headliners tend to come in the final wave (in 2025, Stray Kids, aespa and IVE were announced last)
Both 2024 and 2025, held in September, had their first announcement in July. With 2026 also on September 19, the first lineup could well land around mid-July.
Will BTS Perform?
BTS’s appearance is the big question for many fans — but there’s no official announcement yet. Just the facts: BTS are on their 2026 world tour, and with the North American leg wrapping up, mid-September (around Sep 19) falls in a gap, so the date is open. On the other hand, they only just finished a tour show at this same Busan Asiad in June, so a return is uncertain. They have deep ties to TMA through their run of consecutive Daesang wins — but whether they perform comes down to the official word.
Tickets & How to Attend
There’s no official ticket info for 2026 yet. Past practice varies by region: in Korea-hosted years (2022 Seoul, 2023 Incheon), instead of paid general sales, audiences were sometimes gathered by application/lottery. Overseas editions (2024 Osaka, 2025 Macau), on the other hand, had paid tickets.
Because 2026 is in Busan (Korea), it’s not yet clear which approach will be used. Keep an eye on the official site (tfmusicawards.com) and the official social media (X) for announcements. And do be careful of scam emails and fake sites impersonating the event.
How to Join Fan Voting (Fan N Star)
Some TMA awards are decided by fan voting on the operator’s Fan N Star (팬앤스타) app/web. The headline categories include the Fan N Star Choice awards (separate for groups and soloists), the seasonal Best Music awards, and the Global Hot Star award (new in 2025), voted on by fandoms in each language — Japanese, English, Chinese and more.
As a rule, voting typically opens with a preliminary round in early summer, with the final round (about 3 weeks) closing roughly a week before the show (in 2025, the first Choice round ran Jul 21–Aug 4, for example).
Past Host Cities & Daesang Winners
| Date | Host city | Daesang |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 2019 | Incheon (Namdong Gymnasium) | BTS |
| Mar 16, 2020 | Online | BTS |
| Dec 12, 2020 | Online | BTS |
| Oct 2, 2021 | Online | BTS |
| Oct 8, 2022 | Seoul (KSPO Dome) | BTS |
| Oct 10, 2023 | Incheon (Namdong Gymnasium) | SEVENTEEN |
| Sep 7–8, 2024 | Osaka (Kyocera Dome) | aespa |
| Sep 20, 2025 | Macau (outdoor venue) | Stray Kids & others |
| Sep 19, 2026 | Busan (Asiad Main Stadium) | — |
Host cities have moved from Seoul/Incheon → Osaka → Macau → Busan, returning to Korea in 2026 after the overseas runs. The timing has also settled into mid-September in recent years (2024 = Sep 7–8, 2025 = Sep 20, 2026 = Sep 19).
Traveling to Busan for the Show (Access & Prep)
If you’re coming in from afar, it pays to lock down your venue access, your post-show route home, and your trip bookings early. On a big-concert day the area gets extremely crowded and hotels fill up fast — it’s worth securing a room now while the date is set (a free-cancellation rate lets you change plans later).
★ Trip prep guides ★
• Full venue access guide (routes by station, post-show shortcuts)
• Trip-booking prep checklist (eSIM, KTX, airport transfer, luggage delivery)
🎫 Booking transfers, tours, or an eSIM on Klook? Enter the coupon code below at checkout for a discount — it works for Klook bookings anywhere, not just Busan (Seoul or any other trip too).
FAQ
When and where is TMA 2026?
Saturday, September 19, 2026, at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium (Metro Line 3, Sports Complex Station). It’s the first time TMA is held in Busan.
When will the lineup be announced?
Not yet announced. Based on past patterns, the first lineup drops about 7–10 weeks before the show (in September-edition years, that’s July), with more names added in weekly waves afterward. For 2026, the first announcement is likely to start around mid-July.
Will BTS perform?
No official announcement at this point. Mid-September falls in a gap in BTS’s world tour, so the date allows it, and their ties to TMA run deep — but they also played the same venue in June, so nothing is certain. Please wait for the official word.
How do I get tickets?
2026 tickets/attendance details haven’t been announced. Korea-hosted years have previously used an application/lottery system. Check the official site (tfmusicawards.com) and official social media (X).
How’s the venue access and the crowd on the way back?
The nearest stop is Metro Line 3’s Sports Complex Station. Big-concert days get very crowded after the show, so see the full venue access guide for routes by station, shortcuts, and last-train info.
