Ultra Music Festival draws big crowds to Miami after pandemic pause

‘The Miami vibe – I expect something special’

MIAMI — It’s back – and more colorful and even louder than ever: The grand return of the Ultra Music Festival in downtown Miami.

People from all over the region, and likely the country, expressed their excitement Friday.

Sky 10 flew above the crowd earlier in the day, capturing images of festival-goers pouring in, on Day 1 of this three-day event.

“The Miami vibe – I expect something special,” one attendee said. “Everybody is here from so many places in this world, and (we’re) all here to experience one thing: music.”

[RELATED: Going to Ultra? Here’s your go to guide]

The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the event the last two years. The fest was moved to Key Biscayne the year before that.

But now? It’s back to downtown Miami, where it all started.

With all the excitement comes the big crowd and a big responsibility for first-responders.

“We have Narcan, we got IV fluids – we have anything that may be needed, whether it’s a diabetic emergency or cardiac emergency,” Lt. Pete Sanchez said.

Miami Fire Rescue units were on standby.

Officials said that a total of 64 people were evaluated by rescue workers and 14 were transported to the hospital with with varying issues, but none that were life threatening.

Police said there were four arrests made on Friday, all for possession of narcotics.

One-hundred firefighters a day will be spread throughout the event, and Miami Police were set to handle crowd control, road closures and any other issues that arise.

Copyright 2022 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

About The Author
Andrew Perez

Andrew Perez

Andrew Perez is a South Florida native who joined the Local 10 News team in May 2014.

Alex Ciccarone

Alex Ciccarone

Alex Ciccarone is a Digital Journalist at WPLG. She was born and raised in Miami and graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science degree in Telecommunications.

Joseph Ojo

Joseph Ojo

Joseph Ojo joined Local 10 in April 2021. Born and raised in New York City, he previously worked in Buffalo, North Dakota, Fort Myers and Baltimore.