This image from the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England was featured in a presentation provided to the city of Miami Beach.
City of Miami Beach
Miami Beach is looking at importing a major motorsport festival from England in March 2024 that would likely bring tens of thousands of visitors to South Beach during spring break.
Representatives for the Goodwood Festival of Speed — which is held annually at the Duke of Richmond’s estate in England and attracts over 100,000 people — are pitching Miami Beach officials on the idea.
“This is the kind of thing that attracts an enormous amount of worldwide attention,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told the Miami Herald. “It’s not unlike Art Basel.”
The discussions reflect city officials’ efforts to change the party atmosphere of spring break, particularly along South Beach’s iconic Ocean Drive. Gelber said that while details of the proposed festival have yet to be hashed out, he anticipates Ocean Drive would be its “center of gravity.”
“I believe that programming events that define the community is better than just waiting to see what happens,” Gelber said in an interview this week.
City officials have been talking to festival organizers for months, Gelber said, and a group of city staff traveled to West Sussex, England, to visit the festival grounds earlier this year. The mayor said he had multiple virtual meetings with the Duke of Richmond, Charles Gordon-Lennox, the event’s founder.
The Goodwood Festival typically features a “hill climb” in which drivers compete for the fastest individual time on an uphill course, along with a host of other racing showcases and motorsport exhibitions.
The discussion with Miami Beach is still in the early stages. Commissioner Alex Fernandez sponsored an agenda item to discuss the matter last month that was referred to the city’s Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee, which is expected to take it up Sept. 30. It would then need approval from the full City Commission.
“Everything now is very preliminary, but I’m thrilled that yet another event of such high caliber is interested in making Miami Beach its presence in the Americas,” Fernandez said in a text message.
In a 21-page presentation shared with city officials, the Goodwood organizers touted the potential benefits for “Miami” and did not specifically mention Miami Beach. Gelber said that could reflect the regional scale of the event, noting he has alerted Miami Mayor Francis Suarez to the discussions.
Representatives for the Goodwood Festival did not immediately respond to a request for comment on their plans.
The presentation offers limited details but estimates $50 million in “economic impact,” created by the tens of thousands of visitors who would spend about three days in the area. It touts the festival as “a unique opportunity for Miami” that would combine “Goodwood’s quintessential English charm with Miami’s renowned glamour.”
The document also lists a number of “hosting requirements,” including marketing, security, and accommodation for Goodwood staff. The anticipated costs for the city are not yet clear.
Ocean Drive is pictured during spring break in March 2022. Pedro Portal [email protected]
Miami Beach officials have talked for years about changing the character of Ocean Drive, including by proposing rezoning plans and holding a referendum on a 2 am last call for alcohol sales. During spring break, the city has sought to implement programming tailored more to an over-40 crowd than to spring breakers. Earlier this year, the city rolled out a monthlong music festival lineup in March that featured Alanis Morissette as a headliner.
Critics have accused the city of taking heavy-handed measures in response to Black spring break crowds, and of trying to certain Black and low-income tourists from visiting.
Fernandez, the city commissioner, said his goal is simply to keep people safe.
“Whether it’s Goodwood or something else, I envision an activity that makes sure all of South Beach is safe and programmed with positive activations,” he said, “and also provides a controlled environment on Ocean Drive.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 9:22 AM.
Aaron Leibowitz covers the city of Miami Beach for the Miami Herald. He was previously a municipal government reporter covering cities around Miami-Dade County.
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