Ultra Music Festival, founded in 1999, became one of the world's largest electronic music festivals, generating nearly $1 billion in economic impact for Miami since 2012.
Key Facts
- Founded
- 1999, by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes
- Record attendance (2012)
- 155,000 at Ultra Main Stage people
- Combined attendance (2013)
- 330,000 over two consecutive weekends people
- Economic impact since 2012
- Approximately $995 million USD
- Primary venue
- Bayfront Park, downtown Miami
- International franchise brand
- Ultra Worldwide, spanning multiple continents
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The late 1990s surge in electronic dance music culture and the growth of Miami as a hub for the genre, amplified by the annual Winter Music Conference, created demand for a large-scale outdoor festival dedicated to electronic music.
Ultra Music Festival was founded by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes and first held on March 13, 1999, on Miami Beach. It grew from a two-day event into a three-day festival attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees annually at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami.
The festival expanded into the global Ultra Worldwide franchise, reached locations across multiple continents, acquired the Winter Music Conference in 2018, and generated an estimated $995 million in economic impact for Miami since 2012, cementing the city's status as a global electronic music capital.
Work
Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival established Miami as a premier global hub for electronic dance music, spawned the Ultra Worldwide international franchise, and has drawn hundreds of thousands of attendees annually since its founding in 1999.