The music has stopped in downtown Miami after the three-day Ultra Music Festival came to an end Sunday night.
Tens of thousands made their way to Bayfront Park for the event, which had been canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.
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“Definitely worth the wait,” one festival-goer said.
Although festival-goers seem to be having a great time, safety remained a concern for Miami Police and Miami Fire Rescue.
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“Yesterday (Friday) we only had four arrests,” said City of Miami Police Spokesperson Mike Vega on Saturday. All the arrests were made for possession of narcotics. “Be careful because these drugs are being laced with fentanyl, and we know how deadly that can be. We don’t want to have them be another statistic.”
Saturday saw 10 arrests, and there were four on Sunday.
In total, 18 arrests were made throughout the weekend with most being drug-related. In 2019, 35 people were arrested.
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“The partygoers came to do one thing and it was to have fun," said Miami Police Department Ofc. Kenia Fallat. "And they did it in a responsible manner.”
On Friday, Miami Fire Rescue says there were 64 calls for medical service, and 14 people went to the hospital. On Saturday, 53 more people were evaluated and 16 were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Sunday saw 36 calls with 18 people transported to the hospital.
“Every year, as we see things that happen we learn from events that happen in other places," said Miami Fire Rescue Fire Marshal Adrian Plasencia. "We try to make sure we are effectively prepared for scenarios like that.”
Ultra had been hosted in downtown Miami for nearly two decades until 2018. After that year's event, city commissioners voted not to renew the festival's contract following complaints from residents.
Ultra organizers moved the festival to Virginia Key in 2019, but logistical issues and sound complaints from new neighbors prompted organizers not to seek another year at that location.
