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Ultra must pay $2 million to stay in Bayfront Park, Miami

Could this be the end of an era?

Ultra Musical Festival will need to pay $2 million in order to keep its current location at Bayfront Park, Miami in 2020.

As reported in the Miami Herald, the massive three-day festival which this year saw such spectacles as the reunion of Swedish House Mafia, may be forced to pay an annual fee of $2 million to the city of Miami if it wishes to remain where it is.

The festival’s five-year contract with the city ended after this year’s event so, while 2019’s event appears to be secure, concerns are being raised as to its security in Bayfront Park in 2020.

Throughout those five years, Ultra brought in a net average of $663,000 to the city of Miami per annum, bringing in $742,000 in 2018. The proposed fee adds up to more than double what it takes to fund the festival itself.

Despite this, Commissioner Joe Carollo, who doubles as chairman of the Bayfront Park Management Trust has expressed that he is determined to make the festival pay the proposed cost. “I'm telling them it's no less than $2 million," he said to the Miami Herald.

The news comes in the wake of the festival being faced with numerous complaints from local residents regarding noise and severe traffic. However, lobbyist for Ultra Ray Martinez told local commissioners that in the wake of concerns the festival’s organisers always speak to neighbours first hand. Ultimately, he said, describing it as the “Art Basel of electronic music", the festival has been nothing but beneficial to the city of Miami since it arrived in the city 18 years ago.

As of now, it is unknown as to whether an agreement on the payment has been reached.