Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual festival of electronic music, founded in 1999 by business partners Russel Faibisch and Alex Omes, and takes place in March in the city of Miami, Florida. The first event of the festival coincided with the Winter Music Conference in 1999, which was also held in Miami. The festival took place between 1999 and 2000 in South Beach (Miami Beach), between 2001 and 2005 in the Bayfront Park (Downtown Miami), between 2006 and 2011 in the Bicentennial Park (Downtown Miami) and from 2012 to the present it is made of new at Bayfront Park.
Although they share the same names, UMF is not directly linked to Ultra Records, a record label of electronic music. However, the two entities announced a "global alliance" in August 2012, which allows them to collaborate in marketing and cross-promotion.
Ultra also conducts its festivals in Ibiza, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Taiwan and Santiago de Chile.
South Beach:
Ultra Music Festival is a festival founded in 1999 by business partners Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. Faibisch had attended the Devotional Tour of the electronic music band Depeche Mode at the Miami Arena in 1993. The festival acquired its name in honor of the 1997 album by Depeche Mode, Ultra. The first festival was held as a one-day event on March 13, 1999, coinciding with the end of the Winter Music Conference. The artists who opened the 1999 festival included Paul van Dyk, Rabbit in the Moon, Josh Wink and DJ Baby Anne. The event was held at Collins Park, South Beach in Miami, Florida, and was a total success, with an estimated ten thousand attendees to the concert. However, Faibisch and Omes perceived a financial loss between $ 10,000 to $ 20,000 during the inaugural year of the festival.
Increase:
Due to the massive increase in attendance between 1999 and 2000, the festival organizers decided to move to Bayfront Park in downtown Miami for the third annual event in which great EDM artists participated, with performances by Robin Fox, Tiësto, Paul van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, Sander Kleinenberg, Photek, Josh Wink, DJ Craze, EC Twins, PAWN LASERS and Rabbit in the Moon, from 2001 to 2005. With the attendance of the seventh annual event of the UMF in 2005 that broke records, the festival was again relocated to a smaller place (by area) that was the Bicentennial Park for the event of 2006. In 2007 together with the Winter Music Conference at its best, UMF held a 2-day event at Bicentennial Park, breaking a record 50,000 people. UMF celebrated its tenth anniversary on March 28 and 29, 2008, with performances by Tiësto, Underworld, Justice, Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, Armin van Buuren, MSTRKRFT, deadmau5, Eric Prydz, Ferry Corsten, Calvin Harris, Moby , The Crystal Method, Boys Noize, Benny Benassi, Armand van Helden, Duck Sauce, David Guetta, Jes, Enur, Pete Tong, Jackal & Hyde, Annie Mac, DJ MYREN, from Iran, and Rabbit in the Moon.
2012:
The 2012 edition was held from March 23 to 25. Due to the construction of 2 museums in Miami's Biccentenial Park, the event was held once again at Bayfront Park for the first time since 2005. The pre-sales tickets for the UMF 2012 were sold out in 20 minutes (according to the UMF on their Facebook page). Shortly after, they opened more with a price increase of $ 149 dollars to $ 229 dollars. This was the second year in which tickets for individual days were not for sale. A special presentation by Madonna the day after the international release of her twelfth MDNA studio album was held on the second day of the festival, hence the tickets for the festival's 14th anniversary quickly rose from $ 229 to $ 300 dollars for just one week. after having gone on sale.
2013:
The 2013 edition of the festival was held during two weekends: from 15 to 17, and from 22 to 24 March, in honor of its fifteenth anniversary. These two weekends coincided with the beginning and end of the Winter Music Conference and the Miami Music Week. The first phase of the festival was officially revealed in January 2013, confirming the appearances of David Guetta, Deadmau5, Tiësto and Pretty Lights on both weekends. The 2013 edition was closed by Swedish House Mafia, being the closing of the second weekend and its last appearance on the stages as part of its last One Last Tour.
2014:
For 2014, the festival was reduced to a single weekend, from March 28 to March 30. The first phase was revealed in December 2013, confirming the appearances of Armin van Buuren, Armin van Buuren, Afrojack, Carl Cox, David Guetta, Hardwell, Fedde Le Grand, Krewella, Martin Garrix, Nicky Romero, Tiësto, Zedd and New World Punx (Markus Schulz and Ferry Corsten). The presentation of Avicii was replaced by Deadmau5 as the final act on the main stage for Saturday, due to his return to Sweden for gallbladder surgery. Notable performances were made by Eric Prydz with the premiere of his new live show "Holo" and the debut of Diplo and Skrillex as the Jack Ü duo. The performance of Above & Beyond was interrupted by a storm, which requires them and their team to move behind the scenes and with their backs to the audience. Deadmau5, made his appearance at the festival by "trolling" the audience during his set with a remix of Martin Garrix's song "Animals" entitled Funnymals adjusted to the children's song "Old MacDonald Had a Farm". At the opening on Friday, a security guard was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage, remaining in a "very critical" state, after being trampled by a crowd of people due to a gate crash, breaking a wire fence. 3 The mayor of Miami Tomás Pedro Regalado, condemned the organizers of the Ultra for being "irresponsible" by not increasing the amount of police presence in the affected area, as requested by the inspectors.
Demand:
Ultra attracts visitors from all over the world. Most visitors stay at Downtown Miami or Brickell hotels. This is by far the most convenient option to attend Ultra. Other popular neighborhoods include Omni and Edgewater, both within walking distance of the Ultra. Some visitors receive hotel accommodations in South Beach. However, getting to Ultra South Beach in downtown Miami can be problematic due to traffic, congestion and expensive transportation options, making it a less popular option. Metrobus routes S, C and 120 connect directly to Ultra and South Beach. Most visitors take the Miami Metro or the Metrobus, and the closest station to the Ultra is Government Center. In addition, the Metromover provides transportation throughout downtown Miami and Brickell. The train and bus services runs until 1am.
