Over the past five years, organizers at Hard Rock Stadium near Miami have hosted some of the biggest spectacles in American sports, including the Super Bowl and college football's national championship game.
They now want to turn the Miami Grand Prix, a Formula 1 race held on Sundays on the winding racetrack around the stadium, into a reservation-only event similar to the Kentucky Derby and Masters.
Tom Garfinkel, the Race's managing partner, said the city's tropical location and reputation as a party center were important aspects, and organizers said the entertainment lineup would include Latin traditions and nightclub-like electronic beats. He said that he intentionally injected regional music from the region.
“We're trying to make this a destination that people in the United States and around the world can put on their calendars and say, 'This is a must-go,'” said Garfinkel, who is also president of the NFL's Miami Dolphins. .
Four-time Grammy Award-winning Latin singer Marc Anthony will perform the national anthem at the 3rd Miami Grand Prix. Haitian-born EDM producer Kaytranada will perform at the end of the race. Weekend performances at the festival-like venue near the racetrack included Puerto Rican rapper Don Omar and Miami-born DJ Steve Aoki.
Visual artists also participate in attempts to differentiate between races. Brazilian street artist Eduardo Cobra, whose work was featured at Art Basel, painted a mural near the truck.
“I think Tom's vision is really important, because this fusion of sports and art is in Miami's DNA,” Cobra said in Portuguese through an interpreter. “It’s this relationship that helps us reach the hearts and minds of the city’s youth.”
Involving musicians and entertainers connected to the area where a major event is being held is a common strategy for sports leagues. When the Super Bowl was held in Inglewood, California in 2022, the halftime show featured Los Angeles rapper Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar.
In November, Donny Osmond sang the national anthem at the Las Vegas F1 race, and since 2012, organizers have used local bands to complement the headliner at the race in Austin, Texas.
“Having local artists makes a big difference because there’s an appeal from the community.”,” Sharifah Wilkinson, a professor at Florida International University who helped plan the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, says: “You're not just speaking to an audience around the world, you're speaking to an audience there, and you're meeting some of the needs of your target market.”
Not all music acts at Miami Grand Prix have local connections. British pop star Ed Sheeran and Chicago-raised EDM artist Kaskade also performed over the weekend.
Although F1 is primarily raced in Europe and the Middle East, it has gained a nascent American fan base thanks to six seasons of the Netflix documentary series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive.”
Las Vegas Grand Prix officials said more than 300,000 fans attended the first race, despite logistical challenges such as traffic jams due to road closures. Approximately 270,000 people attended last year's Miami Grand Prix, including celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Serena Williams.
Kaytranada said that although she was not a F1 fan, she had so much fun watching the first race in Miami in 2022 that she decided to perform this year. The beach was a particularly strong selling point, he said.
“I understand that it's important to a lot of people, especially here. So I understand how important it is and I try to emulate that importance and celebrate it with people. ” he said.
Garfinkel said the entertainment lineup model is something race organizers hope to continue in the future.
“Miami has changed a lot over the last few years, so we want to adapt little by little as things change.”,” He said. “In a place like Miami, the culture is wide-ranging.”