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Ultra Music Festival canceled over coronavirus fears in Miami

The 2020 Ultra Music Festival will be postponed — possibly for a full year, which would effectively cancel this year’s edition of Miami’s marquee electronic dance music event, the Miami Herald has learned.

The decision to postpone was made in a meeting Wednesday morning between Miami’s elected leaders and Ultra representatives, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Before the meeting, Mayor Francis Suarez and Commissioner Joe Carollo told reporters they wanted to postpone the event due to concerns over the spread of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

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City officials have yet to announce details of the change because attorneys are ironing out the legal issues tied to the decision, including the length of the delay, sources said.

This is not the only music festival cancellation among the Coronavirus fear. The debut edition of Ultra Abu Dhabi has been cancelled as concerns about the Coronavirus outbreak continue to grow in the UAE.

Festival Goers were confused as the Miami Mayor had recently posted on Twitter that it was not going to be canceled.

On Twitter, the reaction was divided after news of the cancellation.

“Wow my whole year is now ruined,” tweeted one user.

“Better to be safe,” wrote Suzanne M. “People come from around the world. This sucks but is a smart decision.”

Wednesday morning, Carollo and Suarez — who have had heated political feuds in the past — stood side-by-side to announce that they wanted to see Ultra postponed.

“We’re saying suspend it to a later date when we’ll have a better idea of where we’re heading with the coronavirus,” said Carollo, emphasizing that the city does not want to outright cancel the event.

Suarez said that Ultra presents a unique challenge in that people come from abroad to attend the festival, which has a capacity of 55,000 per day. The mayor said residents have asked the city to consider postponing or canceling Ultra.

Ultra Miami has been produced annually for more than 20 years and was scheduled to return to Bayfront Park after one year on Virginia Key. Residents’ complaints over noise and limited access to the park, along with political feuds, have framed the controversy around Ultra’s future in the city’s public spaces — at one point last year, it appeared that the festival might move to Homestead after logistical issues plagued the Virginia Key event.






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