2019 was a complicated year for the Ultra Music Festival. The Miami electronic music fest relocated to Virginia Key this year (from March 29 to 31), in an attempt to ease concerns about noise and other issues from when the fest was at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, from 2012 to 2018. However, the new location didn’t work well, and there were widespread complaints about traffic, the set-up of the festival, and other factors. Still, organizers were hopeful to return to the location in 2020, as the festival’s head of security, Ray Martinez, said, “It was a great event in a beautiful location, and we look forward to being here next year and producing — and even improving on — our event and our festival.”
However, that will not be the case. In a letter posted on Twiter, Ultra organizers have revealed that the 2020 festival will not be held in Miami, as the fest has “voluntarily terminated our City of Miami license.” The letter also says that Ultra is “now finalizing a new South Florida location that will serve as an incredible and permanent home for Ultra Music Festival.”
Addressing the backlash to this year’s festival, the letter reads, “After listening to feedback from many of you (including over 20,000 fans who took our post-event survey), it is clear that the festival experience on Virginia Key was simply not good enough. This is Ultra Music Festival, after all, and our attendees expect us to deliver on our commitment to excellence. Being committed to excellence not only means constantly striving to become better, it also means being willing to change things when they are not working.”
Read the full letter below.
“Ultranauts,
Throughout the years of Ultra’s existence, our top priority has always been to offer you the best possible music festival experience. Since our inaugural festival in 1999, we have hosted Ultra Music Festival at a variety of different venues throughout the Greater Miami area, with our most recent event taking place on Virginia Key.
After listening to feedback from many of you (including over 20,000 fans who took our post-event survey), it is clear that the festival experience on Virginia Key was simply not good enough. This is Ultra Music Festival, after all, and our attendees expect us to deliver on our commitment to excellence. Being committed to excellence not only means constantly striving to become better, it also means being willing to change things when they are not working.
Accordingly, we have voluntarily terminated our City of Miami license and thank them for being a part of our story over the last two decades.
We are now finalizing a new South Florida location that will serve as an incredible and permanent home for Ultra Music Festival. We have been approached by many interested parties over the years with offers to host the festival at some very unique and impressive locales. One of these, however, has shined far above the others, and we look forward to making our home there for many years to come.
We are in the process of putting the finishing touches on the final details that will ensure that this new location allows us to deliver the incredible experience that our loyal fans expect and deserve. Our priority is providing our attendees a unique, accessible, breathtaking venue.
A formal announcement including full event details and ticket information will be made soon.
Sincerely,
Ultra Music Festival.”
A letter to our fans… pic.twitter.com/m0DkoUWdBU
— Ultra Music Festival (@ultra) May 8, 2019
