Miami GP opening party, South Beach F1 demo to add glitz to inaugural event

Miami GP promoter South Florida Motorsports, which hosts its first-ever Formula 1 race on May 8, has revealed that a party-style event on Wednesday May 4 will be held on the giant podium structure, which is being erected on the south side of the stadium that is home to the Miami Dolphins NFL and University of Miami college football teams. It will be broadcast live on F1’s social media channels.

Norwegian DJ and producer Kygo will perform at the curtain-raising show, along with F1 drivers and team principals, W Series racers and A-list celebrities being interviewed on the podium. General admission tickets are on sale at $100 for the event, and it will allow fans to see parts of the 5.41km Miami International Autodrome racetrack up close for themselves for the first time.

Miami GP CEO Richard Cregan said: “We can’t wait to introduce Formula 1 to Miami, and this event is the perfect way to start the race week. We’ve been working tirelessly to deliver an event that people will enjoy, and also on ways to give as many fans as possible a taste of our event.”

Miami's South Beach

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

In addition to the events at the track, Mercedes F1 team sponsor FTX has partnered with the city of Miami Beach to run a three-day fan festival on the sands of its iconic South Beach.

That will include a demonstration of a Mercedes F1 car on the world-famous Ocean Drive on the Saturday and Sunday of the race weekend.

The ‘FTX Off The Grid’ event will begin on May 6 on the beachfront across from 10^th Street and Ocean, which will feature ticketed music performances in the evenings by top DJs Disclosure, Kaytranada and Jamie XX in an event labelled ‘Sunset on the Sand’.

During the daytime, a 165,000 square feet site will be designated an ‘Electric Beach themed entertainment venue’. This is set to include a Mercedes F1 garage and car display, art galleries, an exhibition from Swiss watchmaker IWC (another Mercedes sponsor), fashion shows and motorsport simulators that will be free for fans to attend and engage with across the race weekend.