Ultra Music Festival will return to Bayfront Park in 2020

July 26, 2019

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Ultra Music Festival is finally experiencing some major headway in their year-long rollercoaster ride to secure a new home inside the city limits of Miami. The city council began entertaining bringing Ultra back earlier this year due to economic losses that were felt when Ultra moved to Virginia Key this year. On Thursday, July 25, city commissioners officially approved a new resolution to allow the three-day festival to return to Bayfront Park for a weekend in March 2020.

The 3-2 favorable vote reverses a September 2018 vote to boot Ultra from the park. Commissioner Carollo remained vehemently opposed to the vote allowing Ultra’s return to Bayfront, on accusations that the city allows political favors and special exceptions to its laws just to accommodate the festival.

Ultra 2020 will be required to make concessions to adhere to the new contract. Maximum sound levels will be lowered to 102 dB, along with the elimination of the Biscayne (Oasis) stage. Ultra will also need to pay back $308,000 in money owed to the city in police and fire expenses, a figure which was negotiated down from $475,000.

Despite a business community that felt the positive economic impact from Ultra’s location in the heart of Miami, downtown residents were present to voice their disapproval of the festival’s presence in their backyard. Ultra organizers can fully expect to see more backlash from downtown residents in the form of community meetings, petitions, and legal grievances.