MIAMI (WSVN) - The cities of Miami, Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale will host multiple free New Year’s weekend celebrations, including free concerts, a holiday festival of lights and New Year’s Eve firework extravaganzas to ring in 2024.
According to a study by WalletHub, Miami is considered the sixth best place to party on New Year’s Eve out of 100 cities in the United States.
And there is so much to do in the Magic City. Phenomenal restaurants? Check. Great nightlife? Cheap. Things that are cheap? Try free.
Fireworks shows in downtown Miami begin around 6 p.m., and they will even go past the clock striking midnight.
That’s why Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said there’s absolutely no reason for revelers to pop off anything of their own.
“As always, we please encourage everyone not to engage in celebratory gunfire, ’cause the bullets that come up absolutely have to come down,” he said. “It might be your life or someone of your loved ones that you might be saving.”
In downtown Miami, Bayfront Park is the place to be, with 28 singers and groups performing, as well as the return of the iconic Big Orange at the top of the InterContinental Miami.
In Miami Beach, the city has already started preparing for the big upcoming weekend.
Everyone in the area will have a variety of activities to do with family and friends to welcome in the new year.
The weekend festivities wrap up with a special New Year’s Day performance by the Miami Beach Classical Musical Festival Orchestra along the iconic Ocean Drive.
“Significant planning has gone into this weekend so that our New Year’s Day celebrations will be fun and safe for the entire family,” said Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner. “Ocean Drive will be closed to motor vehicles all weekend long, and there will be an enhanced police presence throughout our city.”
Presented by the city and the Ocean Drive Association with the support of local businesses, fireworks will be launched from 10th Street and the beach beginning at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.
The holiday weekend kicks off Friday and Saturday with the free Holiday Festival of Lights outside The Gabriel South Beach at 640 Ocean Drive.
Performances are scheduled for 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on both nights.
Presented by the Miami Beach Classical Music Festival and produced by Artistic Director Michael Rossi, the dazzling event offers a blend of live musical performances and projection mapping displays that will turn some of South Beach’s most iconic building façades into interactive displays with vibrant imagery.
The city’s free trolley service will operate an expanded schedule on New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day. Trolleys will run from 8 a.m. on Sunday until 2 a.m. Monday.
There will be plenty safety measures taken to ensure everyone’s safety.
Miami Beach Police will implement an enhanced staffing plan to patrol the entertainment district over and above its regular contingent of officers during the weekend.
North of the county line, drone video showed some of the preparations for the New Year’s Even extravaganza in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Streets were already blocked on Friday afternoon, and barricades were going up.
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