Ultra Music Festival Miami Announces Re-Location

By Vanessa Pacheco

Festival enthusiasts waited patiently to lock in their Ultra Miami tickets with many of the attendees returning as “Ultra Passport” holders who qualified for priority registration tickets. The last of the priority tickets available were a limited amount of tickets offered to new attendees that were eager to get the lowest price. After Ultra fans had purchased their tickets it was a surprise for them to find out that the Miami City Commission Meeting had ruled out the renewal of the five year contract at Bayfront Park in Miami, Florida that would force the festival to find a new venue.

Within the same day that news was reported on the decision Ultra Music Festival issued a statement on Twitter stating Ultra would remain in Miami but leaving attendees with a feeling of uncertainty. To locals it might not make a difference where the festival will be located but many attendees travel from all over the world to attend this festival and it raises the question to whether Ultra Worldwide behaved unethically in choosing to not inform the public until after a majority of festival-goers had purchased their tickets?
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For some of these festival attendees booking a hotel or room is one of the rigorous tasks along with booking transportation such as flights or other forms of transportation. Many of the people purchasing tickets are immediately looking for places to stay prior to the sale of tickets. Not informing the public of important information such as a venue re-location is upsetting for many. While this sort of behavior may not be illegal it is unethical to sell the tickets knowing that an important decision will be made regarding the location of the venue a few days after tickets go on sale.