Ultra Miami Reportedly Will Be Postponed Amid Coronavirus Fears

Ultra Music Festival
 – Ultra Music Festival

Ultra Music Festival’s flagship Miami event appears on the brink of being postponed amid fears of the coronavirus, with local officials saying the decision will be made public Friday.

“The decision was made to postpone it,” Commissioner Manolo Reyes told the Miami Herald after a meeting with Ultra representatives. “I agreed with the decision to postpone it,” Reyes said. “And now I’m worried about the Calle Ocho Festival.”
City manager Art Noriega told the paper the details of the deal are still being worked out. 
“We’re working on a plan with them, and I’ll formally announce it on Friday,” Noriega told the Herald. “The devil’s in the details. I haven’t seen the actual draft of the agreement.”
The announcement comes after speculation the event, which draws up to 165,000 people to the greater Miami area, would be in doubt with fears of the coronavirus spreading amid reported cases of the virus in Florida. Fans travel from across the world to attend the long-running electronic music event, which is scheduled to take place March 20-22 at Bayfront Park featuring artists including live headliners Flume, Major Lazer, Sofi Tukker, Zedd, and DJ headliners including Above & Beyond, Afrojack, Armin Van Buuren, Carl Cox and many others.
While fans on social media are frustrated for potentially having travel plans impacted, Mayor Francis Suarez told the paper the city has the power to cancel the event under its existing contract. 
“I can tell you that just in the last 24 hours, I have received countless emails and messages of all kinds urging the city to act,” Suarez said according to the Herald. “That is another major motivator to have this conversation before it gets too late.”
Pollstar has reached out to Ultra festival representatives for comment.
The seemingly likely postponement comes after the event made a deal in July to move back to its long-running home at Bayfront Park following 2019’s event at Virginia Key, which organizers said was an inadequate site. 
Ultra Abu Dhabi was to take place March 5-6 but was canceled just a day before amid coronavirus fears, “as part of the local and international measures to ensure the health and safety of the public.”