MIAMI (WSVN) - There are only a few days left until the biggest music festival in the world returns to South Florida. The Ultra Music Festival is back and ready to take over downtown Miami, and preparations are now underway.
Crews were seen working Wednesday as they put up barricades for the festival’s 23rd year. Over the next three days, over 165,000 people will be in the Miami area for some of the hottest names in electronic dance music.
Watching crews putting the finishing touches on the stages was a young first-time attendee.
“The vibe, bro, everything is so fire. It’s my first time here, so I’m trying to have fun,” he said.
7Skyforce hovered over the scene in downtown Miami as the main stage was being prepared.
Seven stages will have performances, and a Miami Heat basketball game will also happen over the weekend.
To prevent any incidents, Miami’s chief of police said a vast majority of the department will be out working with other police partners to keep everyone safe.
“Fifteen arrests, no injuries last year. This year, we’re looking to top that,” said Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales.
Between Ultra and the Heat game on Saturday, Morales said, the police department will be out in full force.
“Our special units, like SWAT, our Office of Emergency Management, K-9, mounted, motors, so you’ll see the full contingent and the full might of the Miami Police, including our helicopter out there,” he said.
Morales said they will be receiving assistance from other law enforcement agencies.
“In our command center, we will have all the jurisdiction, so we work very closely with our federal, state and local partners,” he said, “so we’ll have folks from Miami-Dade, we’ll have folks from [the Florida Department of Law Enforcement], we’ll have some federal folks inside our command post to share information, and right now, at this point, we don’t have any credible threats to the event, but in the case that we do, we’ll work closely with our partners.”
More than 165,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event.
“It’ll be interesting to see how the city manages it, you know, with the safety and everything, everybody going to the festival,” said visitor Matt Ledford.
A big change happening this year is that large backpacks will not be allowed at the festival. Clutch purses or wristlet wallets will be allowed.
For people who want to keep their belongings in a larger bag, it must be a clear bag with measurements of 13 inches by 17 inches.
The festival will allow attendees to bring hydration backpacks.
Due to the large crowds, there are several traffic changes to Biscayne Boulevard.
“I’m used to it,” said a local resident.
Starting at 9 p.m. Thursday, all Biscayne Boulevard northbound traffic will be rerouted to the southbound lanes at Southeast First Street and will return to the normal trajectory at Northeast Fourth Street. All Biscayne Boulevard southbound traffic will be rerouted westbound at Northeast Sixth Street.
No southbound traffic will be allowed on Biscayne Boulevard from Sixth Street, and all southbound traffic will be detoured to Northeast Second Avenue and North Miami Avenue.
“I’m happy to have a festival here in our backyard,” said local resident Nizar Taki.
“I just hope the traffic stays down and that everyone stays safe,” said local resident Gemma St. Louis.
The Ultra Music Festival will start on Friday and last until Sunday.
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