Miami city officials pushed Wednesday to postpone the upcoming annual Ultra Music Festival over health concerns triggered by the potentially deadly coronavirus spreading globally.
Mayor Francis Suarez and Commissioner Joe Carollo told reporters they planned to speak with organizers of the electronic music festival about suspending it until a later date.
“We’re going to be discussing with them the possibility of postponing the event, similar to what they’ve done in other parts of the world,” Mr. Suarez said at a press conference.
Mr. Suarez, a Republican, said people from over 100 countries are slated to attend the festival, which is currently set to take place at Miami’s Bayfront Park from March 20-22.
“What we’re trying to do right now is to make sure that we’re gonna control this to the maximum that we can and prevent it from becoming the kind of crisis that you’d have seen in other countries like South Korea, like in Italy and others,” added Mr. Carollo, who chairs the nine-member board that oversees Bayfront Park.
Both elected officials spoke with organizers of the event later Wednesday but declined to disclose any decisions reached during the meeting, The Miami Herald reported afterward.
“There is a resolution, but there are some loose ends to tie up,” Mr. Suarez said afterward, The Herald reported.
City officials will make an announcement with Ultra organizers about the fate of the festival on Friday morning, 13 days before it is scheduled to start, the report said.
Spokespeople for Ultra did not immediately return a request for comment.
“Event organizers have been coordinating with the Florida Department of Health regarding public health issues and will continue to coordinate with and follow the recommendations and protocols relating to risk reduction and preventative measures by, he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the Florida Department of Health and other regulatory agencies,” reads a message available on the event’s website Wednesday. “There are no plans to cancel, postpone or move the 2020 production.”
Held annually in Miami since 1999, Ultra previously said last year’s three-day festival attracted 170,000 attendees from more than 105 countries.
The latest iteration of the event is currently set to include performances by over 100 performers, with headliners including acts such as Major Lazer, David Guetta and Afrojack.
More than 93,000 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed globally since the respiratory disease was discovered in December, and nearly 3,000 people who have contracted the disease have since died, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday.
At least 149 cases and counting of the coronavirus have been documented in the U.S. as of Wednesday. Eleven of those patients ultimately died after contracting the disease.
Several countries hit hardest by the coronavirus have accordingly taken precautions, such as France restricting large public gatherings and Italy ordering the closure of schools.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.