Ultra Music Festival was hit hard this year. After a lukewarm presentation in 2019 in its one-time home at Virginia Key, after being ousted from Bayfront Park, it finally managed to renegotiate a spot at its longtime home and was prepared to present a whole new side of Ultra. Unfortunately, it was one of the first festivals to be cancelled due to fears over the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and chances are, it won’t return in March 2021 either.
Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo believes that, as well.
Carollo has never been kind to Ultra in City Commission meetings, so this news isn’t particularly surprising. The comment was given yesterday in a budget meeting, in relation to $1M in the Virginia Key Beach Part Trust’s reserve budget that would have come from Ultra if it was held this year. 
According to Joey Flechas, a frequent source of Ultra news from the commission meetings, “Carollo is convinced that Ultra will not happen in [2021], given the pandemic.”
Some news has come out recently regarding possible vaccines, but it’s unclear what steps would need to be taken to allow for a 120,000+ capacity festival to be held in downtown Miami in six months. Just yesterday, Halsey Beshears, Florida’s Secretary of Department of Business & Professional Regulation, announced that Miami-Dade bars would be closed until further notice (i.e., when a vaccine is available), so a festival isn’t likely to happen before the bars open.
Carollo is convinced that Ultra will not happen in 2020, given the pandemic, which is what makes him uncomfortable voting for the budget that has that $1M in it. Agency director reassures it is not part of the operational budget, Hardemon echoes, says it won't impact operations
— Joey Flechas (@joeflech) September 10, 2020
Photo by @Philippe Wuyts Photography
