Massive music festival in Miami concludes with minimal arrests, authorities say

MIAMI – Ultra Music Festival, one of the biggest outdoor electronic music festivals in the U.S., ended Sunday with few criminal arrests in downtown Miami despite an expected attendance of over 150,000 people from across the world.

According to officer Kiara Delva, a spokeswoman for the Miami Police Department, the festival’s three-day slate in Bayfront Park resulted in seven total arrests, with four occurring Saturday and three on Sunday.

“Overall, Ultra weekend went extremely well,” Delva told Florida’s Voice.

Saturday’s event, which featured performances from artists such as David Guetta, Martin Garrix and Steve Aoki, resulted in arrests related to illegal vending, theft and trespassing. The department did not release specific information to arrests made on the festival’s closing night.

No arrests were made on Friday, according to Delva. Notably, the opening night of the festival was subsequently cancelled Friday due to severe weather as lightning and strong winds swept through the city.

DJ Tiesto, one of the event’s headliners, abruptly ended his set Friday as thousands of soaked concert goers cheered on. The Dutch-born performer is often hailed as “The Godfather of EDM.”

Inaugurated in 1999, Ultra Music Festival, or UMF, annually draws some of the biggest electronic music artists to Miami as part of Miami Music Week. The festival annually draws 55,000 fans per day from electronic music fans from across the globe.

Specifically, the festival’s 2023 edition drew 165,000 fans and 42 million viewers on the event’s livestream.

Sunday’s closing act was headlined by Calvin Harris and Eric Prydz. Other artists to play over the three-day festival included Armin Van Buuren, AfroJack, and Hardwell, who’s headline set was postponed from Friday to Saturday.

Falling annually at the end of March around Spring break, Bayfront Park has primarily hosted Ultra since 2001. The festival also has taken place in Miami’s Bicentennial Park and Virginia Key.

Recently, Gov. Ron DeSantis stepped up safety measures in accordance with spring break activity in typically targeted areas like Miami Beach.

Speaking in Miami Beach recently, DeSantis introduced his safety plan by calling Florida a “law and order state.”

“What we don’t welcome is criminal activity. What we don’t welcome is mayhem and people that want to wreak havoc on our communities,” DeSantis said. “Make no mistake about it, if your coming here in order to enjoy Florida and to enjoy and have a good time fine, if your coming for these other reasons, if your committing crimes, causing havoc, you are going to pay the price.”