Las Vegas To Host Free Neon City Festival During Grand Prix Weekend

A new free, all-ages music and food festival is coming to downtown Las Vegas during the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.

Yesterday, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) approved a $1 million sponsorship for Neon City Festival, which is planned to take place from November 22-24, 2024. The event “will feature a large sprawling footprint, headliner talent, diverse food and beverage offerings, and more,” according to the LVCVA. More details will be shared in the coming weeks.

Neon City Festival is also backed by the Fremont Street Experience, the STRAT Hotel, and 12 other downtown hotel-casinos, all of which are expected to collaboratively host programming for the event, according to KNTV Las Vegas.

In addition to founder Derek Stevens, a casino developer and owner of properties such as The D Las Vegas, Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, and the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, the participating casino properties have been listed as “co-founders” of the event, according to FOX5 Vegas. Jeff Victor, vice president of The D Las Vegas, has been appointed CEO.

KNTV Las Vegas reports that the move is an attempt to capitalize on “hype” around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the 22nd race of the Formula 1 season, which returns to Sin City from November 21-24, 2024.

Last year’s race, the first Grand Prix in Las Vegas since 1982, didn’t go as well as local authorities might have hoped. Road work in preparation for the 2023 race—held on the Las Vegas Strip—began in April and resulted in various road closures through December 2023. Headline-grabbing expensive hotel rates during race weekend soon dropped surprisingly low as resorts looked to fill empty rooms due to overestimated demand.

“There are a little over 6,000 rooms downtown, but I think rooms throughout the valley that are not on the [F1] circuit have the ability to benefit from this festival,” LVCVA president and CEO Steve Hill told fellow board members, according to KNTV Las Vegas. 

“As you know, what really drives the financial model of downtown is not just filling their rooms, but it’s having the rest of the city come visit while they’re coming to experience everything that the entire Resort Corridor has to offer. So, we think that has additional benefit other than just the event itself,” Hill continued.

Featured image from Pexels.com.