MIAMI, FL – Ultra Music Festival’s opening night was canceled after severe thunderstorms rolled through the Bayfront Park venue on Friday, forcing an emergency evacuation of tens of thousands of fans.
As a tornado watch loomed over downtown Miami, festival organizers took to social media urging attendees to “calmly leave the park now” due to the approaching line of intense thunderstorms packing lightning, heavy rain, and potentially damaging winds.
The emergency evacuation came just as SLANDER was in the midst of his headlining set on the main stage. Just minutes early Tiesto was forced to cut his highly-anticipated performance short as staff scrambled to replace the DJ equipment damaged by the heavy rain.
Other top acts like Hardwell and the Chris Lake b2b Fisher (Under Construction) set were completely canceled on Friday night before they could take the stage.
In an act of solidarity, DJ Afrojack, who was able to perform earlier in the evening, offered to give up his scheduled set time over the next two days to allow either Hardwell or Chris Lake’s group to make up their missed set.
As fans poured out onto Biscayne Boulevard around 9 PM, they were greeted by blinding rain, frequent lightning strikes, and urban flooding from the severe storms.
The chaotic shutdown came just hours after eager music fans from around the world had lined up well before gates opened to get prime spots for the sold-out three-day electronic dance music festival.
Are Ultra Music Festival Day 2 being canceled as well?
Unfortunately, weather forecasts indicate Saturday could bring another round of severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall to the Miami area, putting day 2 of Ultra in jeopardy as well.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch and Wind Advisory for Miami-Dade County through Saturday evening, with the potential for 3-6 inches of rain, damaging wind gusts, hail, and even a few isolated tornadoes.
At this point, no official word has come from festival organizers on potential rescheduling or refunds for ticketholders impacted by the cancellations. Fans are anxiously awaiting updates as another line of dangerous storms takes aim at South Florida on Saturday.
EDX announced his Ultra Music Festival set has been canceled. The best case is that the opening hour will be postponed until later in the day as announced by the festival’s official. Unfortunately, the weather forecast indicates heavy rain until 8 PM.
This is a developing story, and we will provide updates as they become available regarding the status of the remainder of Ultra Music Festival weekend.
