MIAMI – Miami Beach welcomed the Ultra Music Festival in 1999. The electronic dance music fans moved the party to downtown Miami in 2001.
This year, the preparations for the three-day UMF at Bayfront Park were ongoing on Wednesday. A section of Biscayne Boulevard will close in both directions starting Thursday night.
Miami Fire Rescue personnel and police officers have a plan. During a news conference, Chief Manuel Morales said his teams were ready.
“We search everybody as they’re coming in to make sure there are no weapons or illegal items,” Morales told local reporters.
About 55,000 EDM fans worldwide will take over the park starting Friday afternoon. The most popular sets will likely be those of Swiss DJs Adrian Shala and Adrian Schweizer, better known as Adriatique; Swedish DJ Adam Beyer, and Dutch DJ Nick “Afrojack” van de Wall.
The lineup includes Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren, Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, French DJ David Guetta, English DJ Alexander “Elderbrook” Kotz, and Swedish DJ Eric Prydz. The few women performing include Belgian DJ Amelie Lens, Russian DJ Nina Kraviz, and Swiss-South African DJ Daniela “Nora En Pure” Di Lillo.
City officials anticipate a busy Biscayne Bay, a crowded Bayside Marketplace, and drug-related challenges in the area. Last year, Miami police officers at UMF reported there were 19 arrests and most of the cases were because of narcotics. There were also thieves stealing cell phones.
“We have undercover officers inside, not only looking for individuals looking to prey on victims — but any type of suspicious individuals,” Morales said.
The $350 tickets sold out fast and the waiting list was growing. The festival opens from 4 p.m. to midnight on Friday, from noon to midnight on Saturday, and from noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. For more information about UMF, visit his page.
Traffic alert
Police officers plan to close an area of Biscayne Boulevard from 9 p.m., on Thursday, to 7 a.m., on Monday.
Officers plan to re-route Biscayne Boulevard’s northbound traffic to the southbound lanes from Southeast First Street to Northeast Fourth Street.
Officers plan to re-route Biscayne Boulevard’s southbound traffic westbound at Northeast Sixth Street to Second Avenue and North Miami Avenue.
Police officers will not block access to PortMiami at Northeast Fifth Street and ask drivers to use the Port’s tunnel on Interstate 395.
For more information about the traffic flow changes, call 786-767-7272.
Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Stephany Heilbron contributed to this report.