The Ultra Music Festival is getting set to kick off in Miami’s Bayfront Park in a matter of hours, and while it’s a money maker for the city, it’s getting mixed reactions from residents.
The Ultra Music Festival generated over $207 million in economic impact for the local economy in 2024, according to event organizers.
It’s estimated over the past 25 years, that number has reached close to $3 billion.
Mariana Weber lives near Bayfront Park where the Ultra Music Festival will be held this weekend.
So, she won’t have to walk far to get to the venue.
“I love electronic music,” she said. “So for me, I look forward to this every single year. I love it very much. So for me, I’m excited. I love it.”
She said she chose to live in this part of town because of the energy. And said thousands of people jamming at Ultra only adds to it.
“They were doing a sound check and you could hear everything,” she said. “It’s super loud.”
Vendors have started checking in, and police have closed off a good chunk of Biscayne Boulevard by 1st Street.
Downtown residents have been complaining to the city commission that the traffic and noise are unbearable and want the volume turned down.
“The noise from Ultra shakes our windows and our floors,” one resident said.
“It goes until midnight, and it’s so loud,” another resident said.
Security will be top of mind.
The venue will be paying for the Miami police officers working the event. There will be undercover officers looking for any illegal drug use. And there are first aid tents set up throughout the event grounds.
This year there will also be drones flying over to help identify traffic issues.
“Security is always good,” Weber said. “Why not? More police more authority being around here, less chaos.”
And Ultra is expected to attract people from more than 100 countries, marking the peak of Miami Music Week.
With so many people attending, there will be resources available to prevent human trafficking.
The Miami Dade County State Attorney’s Office will have a hotline available throughout the weekend. And there’s even a QR code you can scan.
“With the QR Code, all you have to do, they know they can go in, the QR code, it goes right into an emergency hotline,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. “And immediately response goes out to wherever the need is, right? In addition to which, if a victim sees this, he or she can save it in their phone.
City commissioner Miguel Gabala had proposed a 20-year contract extension with the venue. That item was tabled to next month, and residents want more input before the decision is made.
