On February 1, 2023, the Mayor and City Commission approved a referral item, sponsored by Commissioner Ricky Arriola, to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) to discuss the possibility of relaunching Sleepless Night. Sleepless Night was produced biennially by the City of Miami Beach in 2007, 2009 and 2011. 

On November 3, 2007, Miami Beach hosted its first all-night arts Sleepless Night Festival. Sleepless Night was a collaboration of all the city’s major cultural institutions, theaters, galleries, and arts organizations, as well as hotels, shops, nightclubs, restaurants, and individual artists and presenters. Sleepless Night included major cultural institutions such as the Miami City Ballet, Miami International Film Festival, Jewish Museum of Florida, Miami Design Preservation League, Miami Light Project, Tigertail Productions, Bass Museum, Miami Beach Cinematheque, New World Symphony, and the Wolfsonian-FIU, among many other participants. Free public transportation connected the four major zones of activity- North Beach, Collins Park, Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive.  

From dance performances and sculpture gardens to live bands and street parades, Sleepless Night was a free, 13-hour, innovative cultural affair which started at 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday evening in the fall season until sunrise at 6:00 a.m. Sunday. 

On November 7, 2009, the City hosted the second edition of Sleepless Night, presented by Tourism and Culture Department and the Cultural Arts Council (CAC). The event was produced in-house by staff in response to the 2005 and 2007 Community Satisfaction Surveys in which resident expressed their desire for more free cultural activities. A third edition occurred on November 5, 2011. 

Sleepless Night was created by the CAC as a signature, annual cultural event to celebrate Miami Beach’s ongoing commitment to the arts and the invaluable contribution they make to both our economy and quality of life. The successful international Nuit Blanche model was chosen because it offered the opportunity to reach the diverse populations of South Florida, and to create community by removing the barriers that often disenfranchise some segments of the population. This innovative citywide showcase of culture first began internationally when Paris hosted the first Nuit Blanche event in 2002. The success of the event in Paris made it an annual city celebration and became an international trend, spreading to cities such as Rome, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Naples, Brussels and Toronto.  

Sleepless Night was jointly funded through the City of Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council, Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Authority, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Knight Foundation, State of Florida, National Endowment of the Arts and various corporate sponsorships, including Bustelo, Audi, Red Bull, Classical South Florida Radio, and the Ocean Drive Association.  

The funding history is noted as follows: 

Although Sleepless Night was success for the City, funding and resources continued to be a challenge. The inaugural Sleepless Night in 2007 was produced in house by the Tourism and Culture Department. Approximately 100,000 people enjoyed 130 free events scattered among 80 venues. On September 4, 2008 LTC 223-2008 was issued stating that government funding had been severely impacted over the past two years and lack of available funding prevented Sleepless Night from occurring in 2008. It was determined resources would be channeled into Sleepless Night 2009.

Sleepless Night 2009 welcomed over 130,000 residents and visitors who enjoyed 150 free cultural offerings at 80 locations spread throughout the city and the 13 -hour night. On March 3, 2010, via LTC 068-2010, Sleepless Night 2010 was rescheduled due to the extensive planning, programming and fundraising required to stage the event on an annual basis. These tasks could not be accomplished on available staff hours and without a committed corporate name sponsor. To continue to build on the quality and scope of the first two Sleepless Nights, it was determined the event’s biannual schedule would be maintained.  

On November 5, 2011, Miami Beach hosted its third and final Sleepless Night. To supplement funding, the Knight Foundation awarded the City a $200,000 matching grant for Sleepless Night 2011 and 2012 ($100,000 each year).  However, on May 12, 2012, Sleepless Night was cancelled indefinitely via LTC 139-2012. As stated in the LTC, “due the inability to raise the private funding necessary to produce the event....we feel it is irresponsible to proceed without a committed named sponsor”.

On August 13, 2014, via Resolution No. 2014-28732, the Finance Committee recommended against releasing the Cultural Arts Council Endowment to support Sleepless Night events. The Cultural Arts Council Endowment was later used in 2020 and 2021 to support Miami Beach cultural institutions during the pandemic.

All City sponsorships and partnerships are handled by a third-party sponsorship agency, the Oak View Group (OVG360). The City would need to engage OVG360 to secure sponsorships for the Sleepless Night program.

Estimated Event Cost:

Based on the previous event production cost average of $650,000.00, based on current CPI an amount of $800,000.00 to $1,000,000.00 is recommended to recreate Sleepless Night by today’s standards.

Timeline:

History has proven from the 2009 and 2011 events, that two years are required to secure funding for an event of this scale with third-party sponsorships. Taking the biennial nature of this event, should funding be identified and secured with Commission approval, Sleepless Night may return in 2025 or 2026.

Event Production:

The Tourism and Culture Department oversees fitness and culture programming in March. This production of the March events includes managing a production company from the approved pool of producers and working with various entities that take year-long planning. Creating a Request For a Letter of Intent (RFLI) would be required to engage a production company from the pool to oversee the production of an event of this scale. The RFLI process should be included in the timeline of a possible event.

The 2007, 2009, and 2011 editions of Sleepless Night were successful 13-hour citywide event for Miami Beach. The events engaged close to 100,000 attendees with over 100 free events in 80 cultural venues. The large-scale nature of the event requires extensive planning, programming, and fundraising.

Based on the three previous iterations of Sleepless Night, should a new biennial event be authorized, the Administration recommends the identification of funding in an amount from $800,000.00 to $1,000,000.00 to include sponsorships and possible grants as well as engaging a producer from the approved pool to continue the biennial schedule of the event, launching in 2025 or 2026.