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2024 Best-of, Worst-of, and WTF? – EVENTS

We look back at the year’s big draws and a few that fizzled out…

Throughout the years, our city has had famous detractors. President Barack Obama said in 2010 “You don’t blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.”, drawing the wrath of then-Governor Jim Gibbons and Mayor Oscar Goodman.

Most recently, actress Jamie Lee Curtis stated “Vegas has, quite frankly, turned into one giant slutty circus. I’m never gonna have a residency, so I don’t care if they never invite me back.”

 

Graphic via lvcva.com

Nevertheless, Las Vegas conventions, music festivals, and similar gatherings draw millions for business and recreational travel. Billions of dollars have been invested in expanding and modernizing spaces to accommodate them. Clark County even bent backward (or over, depending on your level of cynicism) to welcome the most controversial…Formula One Grand Prix.

Not all events are a success. Many peter out, others are abruptly canceled, and some leave a nasty taste in our collective throats. Here are a few highs and some disappointing lows.

SIZZLED – National Finals Rodeo

It’s a Cowboy Christmas every year when Wrangler’s National Finals Rodeo (aka NFR) rolls into town. One week of official events flanked by countless ancillary activities, the NFR draws thousands who eat, drink, attend shows, and bring a tsunami of politeness and charm.

Since 1985, NFR has been a holiday gift to the city. Millions are pumped into the economy each December, causing little (or no) disruption to activities for other tourists. Quite the contrary, the gathering draws country music superstar headliners during the potentially slow pre-Christmas season. Casinos go out of their way to welcome guests, decorating hotels from top to bottom in country-themed holiday glitz.

FIZZLED – Giddy Up Music Festival

Launching a new music festival is anything but a guaranteed success. Remember ROCK IN RIO LAS VEGAS? That was a one-and-done fiasco. The 2015 two-weekend event drew less than half of its anticipated attendance, and one of the organizers filed for bankruptcy less than a year later.

Guests for GIDDY UP Music Festival never made it through the gates of Downtown Events Center. The country extravaganza was canceled on September 5th, less than two months before launch. No official reason was given. Here’s a portion of the press release:

“There’s nothing we would love more than to ride through the festival gates with you this October, but unfortunately we can no longer move forward with Giddy Up Las Vegas Music Festival 2024. We understand that many of you who have purchased tickets looked at Giddy Up as the must-attend event of the season, and we are truly sorry. It is not possible to overstate just how seriously we, as producers and promoters, take the decision to cancel this year’s festival.”

SIZZLED – Superbowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium

It’s always a pleasure to eat crow when your predictions are erroneous and a situation turns out to be a success. I anticipated mass chaos when it was announced that Allegiant Stadium would host the next Superbowl.

The reason? Major road construction near and around the site, a lack of adequate parking, and a new stadium that was still working out operational issues. Everything ended up working out fine, and the event pumped massive amounts of money into the local economy. Winner winner, chicken dinner!

FIZZLED – Sick New World Festival 

Just like GIDDY UP, the Sick New World Festival 2025 won’t happen at a festival ground near you. Set to return next April, the goth/punk/alternative weekend seemed to do alright this past April. But plans for next year were seemingly just too ambitious. You can get all the details and theories from our friend at Vital Vegas right here.

SICK NEW WORLD, April 27, 2024. Photo by Cameron Grant via Facebook

SIZZLED – Vegas Dance Explosion at Westgate Resort

Now in its twenty-fifth year and still growing, VEGAS DANCE EXPLOSION explores the power of dance. It gathers folks from numerous countries worldwide, young and old, and participants from different cultures. They come together to share, learn, laugh, and have a week of fun.

The brainchild of Doug and Jackie Miranda (The King Comes Home, Soul of Motown), VEGAS DANCE EXPLOSION receives ample assistance from Guy Windsor, all supplying joyful entertainment for Westgate visitors all year long. Learn more about the event by heading here.

LOSING STEAM – Mr. Olympia Weekend

It doesn’t matter if you’re a die-hard nerd or a dedicated gym rat, one painful lesson applies. Keep moving your conventions from place to place and you’ll lose followers. And no organization is more guilty of that than Mr. Olympia LLC, organizers of the annual Joe Weider Fitness Expo and Performance Weekend.

A longtime Vegas mainstay, Mr. Olympia returned from COVID-19 in 2021 with an abrupt shift to Orlando, Florida. The following year, it was back to Sin City for a gathering we reported on here. Still not satisfied with inconveniencing thousands of fans and participants, the Olympia went back to Orlando for 2023, then again to Las Vegas in 2024.

When not jumping back and forth between coasts, the Vegas events plinko-d between Orleans Arena, the Las Vegas Convention Center, Planet Hollywood, Venetian Resort, and finally Resorts World. Fed up with the location gymnastics, I sat this one out for the first time in nearly a decade. Apparently, many others did the same. Were you even aware that it took place?

LOSING STEAM – Star Trek Convention

Star Trek fans experienced much of the same as bodybuilding enthusiasts. After many years at Rio Las Vegas, the official Star Trek Convention moved for one year to Bally’s (now Horseshoe Casino) on the Strip. Then it was back to Rio, where guests and attendees complained of rundown conditions and an inadequate supply of basics…like places to eat and running water.

Somewhere along the way, Creation Entertainment lost the right to call it an official event, preventing ‘Star Trek’ from being used in the name. The list of guest-actor cancellations grew longer than those who actually appeared, yet prices still soared. Don’t be surprised if next year’s is the last.

NOT GOING ANYWHERE – Electric Daisy Carnival and Life is Beautiful

While certain failures might suggest that Sin City has maxed out on music festivals, two of the hottest continue to succeed. Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Las Vegas is the largest music event in North America. The 2024 entry drew over half a million fans.

Held each May at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Vegas iteration plays out over three days. Jam-packed with multiple stages, carnival rides, and art installations, the event will return May 16-18, 2025. Tickets are on sale now.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2024

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL Festival is as much about art, food, learning, and social experiences as it is about the music. Styled like a block party, the downtown event began in 2013. An instant success, it became one of the highest-grossing festivals in the world that year.

While previous editions offered superstar acts like Imagine Dragons, Billie Eilish, and Duran Duran, the line-up for 2024 (above) was a bit…shall we say….more obscure. Nevertheless, expect LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL to return in 2025. Follow the official site here.

SEMA Show 2024

Trade conventions like the Specialty Equipment Market Show (aka SEMA) and Consumer Electronics Show (CES) won’t be going anywhere, either. Both are massive draws to the economy.

Consumer Electronics Show (photo by Andrew Burd)

Hotels, taxi drivers, entertainers, and service workers look forward to their return, in which thousands combine daytime business with evening fun, lots of spending, and minimal headaches. That’s what Las Vegas is all about. On the other hand…

GET THE F*CK OUT! – Formula 1 Grand Prix

Take a good look at the photos above and below. Those are portable toilets in the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard. Not on the sidewalk, not hidden behind construction barriers. They’re just two of many placed on the Strip as part of the two-month Formula 1 teardown.

What’s left to say about a three-night event that transforms one of the most celebrated streets on the globe into a literal “shit show”? Plenty. People complain when Christmas decorations appear early…what about a six-month mess caused by a single sporting event?

Gigantic gatherings like EDC and NFR pump millions into the economy with minimal disruption. Yet Clark County officials look the other way while our city is hideously defaced by Formula 1. Businesses suffer major financial losses, shows and restaurants bolt their doors, and residents endure hours of needless traffic and road closures for half the year. This has to stop.

“Las Vegas Grand Prix offered all seven commissioners a ticket to the Skybox area, according to a letter sent to commissioners. Commissioners William McCurdy, Tick Segerblom, Jim Gibson, Justin Jones, and Ross Miller accepted the tickets. Commissioners Marilyn Kirkpatrick and Michael Naft declined the offer.”

“The tickets were valued at $10,000, with an additional $900 tacked on to account for Nevada’s 9 percent Live Entertainment Tax. They granted admission to Formula 1 race events from Nov. 15 to Nov. 18, according to the letter.” – Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1/23/24

In 2023 I called for a financial audit of all country commissioners who suspiciously continue to back this madness. 2024’s attendance plummeted to less than one-third of the inaugural event, yet talks move forward for a ten-year contract. The whole thing doesn’t add up. Our residents must drive Formula 1 out of Las Vegas forever.

For VEGAS 411’s rankings of the best and worst 2024 live productions, head here

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