On April 6, 2022, the City Commission referred a discussion item to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life (May 17, 2022) and Finance and Economic Resiliency (May 27, 2022) Committees regarding the lessons learned from March 2022.

On June 23, 2021, the City Commission formally approved March 2022 programming with Tom Bercu Presents to activate the area in and around Lummus Park as well as the beachfront areas from 7th to 13th streets with the condition that the proposed programming and production fall within a cost of $1.4 million for infrastructure and $1 million for talent acquisition via Resolution NO. 2021-31758.  On October 13, 2021, the Mayor and Commission approved additional funding of $750,000 for Miami Beach Live! due to limited talent availability and higher production costs bringing the total budget to $3.2 million.

The Tourism and Culture Department and production company Tom Bercu Presents in collaboration with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and its agency of record VMLY&R, and the Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Authority, launched Miami Beach Live! as a four-weekend concert series.

Despite significant public safety staffing deployments, the weekend of March 18-20, 2022 saw two random incidents. On Thursday, March 24, 2022, the City ordered a State of Emergency effective each night from 11:59 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. in the area of the City bounded by 23rd Street and Dade Boulevard to the north (including properties fronting the north side of 23 Street or Dade Boulevard), Government Cut to the south, Biscayne Bay to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. In addition, the sale or distribution of any alcoholic beverage(s) for off-premises consumption, were prohibited in the curfew area after 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, 2022, Friday, March 25, 2022 and after 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

The Emergency Order lead to the postponement of the last concert scheduled for March 26, 2022. 

The Miami Beach Live! pilot program successfully produced a three-weekend concert series and family-friendly activations throughout Lummus Park. While successful, there are areas to improve upon and opportunities to address concerns within the Art Deco Cultural District (ADCD). The Administration is again collaborating with the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and actively conducting meetings with large-scale special event production companies to brainstorm on future opportunities to bring events or festivals to the area.

At the May 2022 FERC and PSNQL meetings, staff provided the following recommendations for future iterations of Miami Beach Live!:

• From a public safety perspective, continued staffing at key areas of the City such as the ADCD to provide prompt response times as staff were positioned in high-volume areas, providing high visibility. Additionally, Code Compliance’s dedicated short-term rental team’s online investigations and site inspections should continue in the future, as this led to finding more active short-term rental properties, and this effort should continue in the future.

• Continue funding at the current level of $3,200,000.00 and provide flexibility to use as an incentive to engage large-scale event or festival that would create a footprint which encompasses Lummus Park and Ocean Drive.

• Focus programming during the second and third weekends in March, specifically those that historically yield the highest number of visitors.

Historically, the month of March has been a period when increased visitors put added stress on citywide services as well as on residents who live around the ADCD. During this period, Miami Beach Police, Fire, Code Compliance and Sanitation increase staffing in the ADCD area. This year, the city launched Miami Beach Live! as the city’s first programming effort to change the narrative of spring break and create a platform for expansion in future years.

As the Administration considered the lessons learned from the Miami Beach Live! 2022 program, it was compared with successful annual month-long Miami Beach activations including Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami International Boat Show and Bitcoin, whose success is demonstrated with several satellite activations occurring within Miami Beach and across Miami-Dade County. As an example, the month of December in the County is renowned as "art" month and April has recently solidified itself as "fintech" month, both with events in the Miami Beach Convention Center and beyond. 

Annual March Fitness Events in Miami Beach:

• 305 Marathon and 5K - First Sunday in March
• FIU Surf and Turf - Second week of March
• Model Volleyball - Second weekend in March

Miami Beach Live! 2023 Ideations and Official March Fitness Month:

Shortly after Miami Beach Live! 2022, staff began engaging with successful local area producers to receive feedback and input on the programming and footprint. Based on these meetings, staff, in an effort to mimic successful Miami Beach events, deduced that fitness was an area that had not fully been explored. Through these brainstorming discussions, the idea to make Miami Beach official fitness month was adopted. Staff met and engaged the following corporations to propose activations for Miami Beach Live! 2023:

• Crunch Fitness: A selection of fitness classes and activities during the month.

• GMCVB: Miami Beach Live! Queer Spring, a collection of LGBTQ-centric sports and fitness events taking place during the first weekend in March to include "Field Day" activities, Pride 5k Run and yoga.

• King of the Court Crown Series: A five-stop international beach volleyball tournament. King of the Court is interested in bringing the first official King of the Court event in the US to Lummus Park, as part of its worldwide tour. The proposed activation is for the second weekend of March 2023. Proposal attached. 

• Kiwanis Club of Little Havana: Since 1975, the Miami organization has brought the Calle Ocho Music Festival, Carnaval Miami and Art in the Park. Proposed activation is for the third weekend in March. Proposal attached.

• Lifetime: The premiere lifestyle brand sponsors the local Miami Marathon and the 305 Half Marathon and 5K. Waiting on estimated budget and proposal. 

• Loud and Live: The nationally recognized Miami entertainment, marketing and media company behind Reebok Crossfit Wodapalooza in downtown Miami. Waiting on estimated budget and proposal.

• Mayhem Nation: The international brand behind nine-time CrossFit Games Champion, Rich Froning Jr. is proposing a Crossfit event. Reviewing estimated budget and proposal.

• Miami Beach Tennis and Soccer Tournament: Approved by the Mayor and City Commission, the Beach Tennis and Soccer Tournament will take place the first weekend in March 2023.

• MLB: The Major League Baseball "World Baseball Classic" returns to loanDepot Park in March 2023. MLB is interested in hosting their fan fest the second weekend in March 2023. Waiting estimated budget and proposal.

• National Cycling League: Inaugural event of a series of closed-course 1-2 kilometer criterium races in the most iconic location, Miami Beach. Proposed activation for last weekend in March.

• Nike: The local Miami Beach flagship store produces several Nike sponsored running and fitness events. Nike is interested in scheduling a series of running and fitness programs throughout the month of March 2023. 
  
  
• Redbull: The internationally recognized soft drink company that produces a comprehensive fitness focused event schedule throughout the world. Redbull submitted the "Redbull Quicksand" event for 2023. After submittal, Redbull informed staff they would not be participating due to their already full event schedule. 

•  RCX Sports: Family-friendly sports activations that include NFL, NHL, and MLB members.

City of Miami Beach Approved Pool of Producer Engagement:

An RFLI was released in May of 2022 to engage proposals for the management and oversight of Miami Beach Live! 2023 including vetting and curating the several event proposals by various entities to include managing and leveraging the proposed partnerships to the benefit of Miami Beach. At the time of the RFLI release, the City had a pool of three (3) approved event producers that include IDEKO, SWARM, and Tom Bercu Presents. 

A panel was composed with representatives of the City Manager's Office, Tourism and Culture Department, Parks and Recreation Department, Miami Beach Fire and Miami Beach Police Departments. The panel reviewed and scored the proposals from the pool and based on highest scores awarded the Miami Beach Live! 2023 contract to producer Tom Bercu Presents. 

The Tom Bercu Presents team meets weekly with members of the Tourism and Culture, Communications and Parks and Recreation Departments to review budget, marketing and event scheduling. 

On September 8, 2022, Tourism and Culture (TCD) staff presented to the Parks and Recreational Facilities Advisory Board the proposed sports and fitness programming in March, which was well received with support from the Board. 

On September 13, 2022, TCD staff presented an update to the Miami Beach Police Department (MBPD) Chiefs and senior staff, to include the proposed footprint of each activation. MBPD has shared their support of sports and fitness activations in the ADCD.

Proposed March 2023 Event Schedule:

Based on the aforementioned sports and fitness entities, the working tentative schedule for March 2023 is as follows:

• March 2 - 5, 2023 Miami Beach Tennis and Beach Soccer Tournament/ Queer Spring

• March 10 - 12, 2023 King of the Courts / Major League Baseball Fan Fest

• March 17 - 19, 2023 Kiwanis of Little Havana Art in the Park

• March 24 - 26, 2023 National Cycling League / Mayhem Nation

The proposed schedule includes smaller activations by Nike, Crunch, and RCX Sports. Staff will continue to provide updates as the negotiations come to a close. 

The Administration has been working on a parallel path to curate the month of March in 2024. Staff has been vetting proposals for large-scale activations from several entities. Below is a working tentative schedule for March 2024 as follows:

• March 1 - 3, 2024 TBD

• March 8 - 10, 2024 North Sea South Beach Music Festival

• March 15 - 17, 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed

• March 22 -24, 2024 Kiwanis of Little Havana Art in the Park

These schedules and events are subject to change based on finalized negotiations and executed agreements.

Miami Beach Live! Funding:

Based on the FY 2022/23 adopted budget, an amount of $3.2M has been requested for March 2023 activations. TCD Staff is currently working with Tom Bercu Presents on the budget allocation for each weekend based on size, scale and funding request from each entity.