Manfred (
Cook Islands
)
The Miami Ultra Music Festival in 2014 – Manfred’s goosebump moment
“Hello, my name is Manfred. I’m from the Cook Islands, and my goosebump moment was when I went to the Miami Ultra Music Festival in 2014. I remember when I was a child, I used to watch the festival on YouTube and think maybe one day I could be there. So, in 2014 we saved enough money to go to Miami. I remember when I was walking by the entrance of the festival and I looked to my right, I saw a lot of people jumping and enjoying music. It was the main stage of the festival. So, I started crying as a baby because in that exact moment, I achieved my childhood dream!”
A Major Destination Every EDM Music Fan Dreams of Visiting
The Miami Ultra Music Festival in 2014 was a major electronic dance music event that took place in Miami, Florida, from March 28-30, 2014. The festival was held at Bayfront Park and featured an impressive lineup of over 200 DJs and artists across several stages.
Some of the biggest names in electronic music performed at the festival, including Tiësto, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Carl Cox, and Deadmau5. The festival also featured several high-profile collaborations and surprise appearances, such as Swedish House Mafia’s reunion performance and appearances by Madonna, Usher, and Will.i.am.
The festival was a massive success, with over 165,000 people attending over the three-day event. However, there were also some controversies surrounding the festival. Some attendees complained about overcrowding and long lines, while others were upset about the use of drugs and the festival’s security measures.
Despite these issues, the Miami Ultra Music Festival in 2014 remains a significant event in the history of electronic dance music. It showcased some of the biggest names in the genre and brought together fans from all over the world to celebrate the power of music and community.
How It All Began
The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes and is named after the 1997 Depeche Mode album, Ultra. First held on Miami Beach, at Bicentennial Park, the festival was briefly also held at Virginia Key in 2019 and has primarily been held at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami.
The festival started as a one-day music event from 1998 to 2006. Since 2011, Ultra has taken place across three days from Friday through Sunday during the month of March of each year. To celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2013, the festival took place across two consecutive weekends and featured a combined attendance of 330,000 people.
The first Ultra Music Festival was held as a one-day event on March 13, 1999. The festival hosted artists like Paul van Dyk, Rabbit in the Moon, Josh Wink, and DJ Baby Anne. This first event was held at Collins Park in Miami Beach and proved popular, with an estimated ten thousand concertgoers in attendance. However, Faibisch and Omes still saw a financial loss of between $10,000 to $20,000 during the festival’s inaugural year.
Growth
Due to the massive rise in attendance between 1999 and 2000, the festival organizers decided to relocate to a bigger and better location which can help them in production and better management of the event: Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami. Ultra Music Festival continued to bring the biggest names in electronic dance music to Miami with performances from the likes of Robin Fox, Tiësto, EC Twins, Paul van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, Sander Kleinenberg, Pete Tong, Erick Morillo, and Rabbit in the Moon from 2001 to 2005.
In 2005, Fabisch met with Adam Russakoff, who has since been the executive producer, director of business affairs, and talent buyer for Ultra Music Festival and Ultra Worldwide. 2005 was also the year that Carl Cox and Ultra worked together to curate the Carl Cox and Friends Arena, formerly known as the Carl Cox Global Arena, which has been a mainstay at Ultra Music Festival for the past several years.
More about Ultra Music Festival in 2014:
- Ultra Music Festival – Wikipedia
- Ultra Music Festival: All The Insider Information!
- TOP 50: The Best Music Festivals in the World
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