Latin-Themed Festival May Replace Orange Bowl Parade

It's never too early to start thinking about New Year's Eve and Miami leaders are
doing just that. With the cancellation of the traditional Orange Bowl parade, one
alternative they're thinking about is a mega concert with a major headliner and
several support acts along with a street festival geared toward the Hispanic community.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz recently hosted a presentation for concert promoters at
city hall. The event would be staged in Bayfront Park and last past midnight.

"The idea would be to compete with Times Square but with a theme of
the Americas," Diaz said, reports the Miami Herald. "We want to capitalize on the
notion that we
are the international gateway to the Americas and bring acts from all over
the Caribbean and Latin America for a real big party.''

Diaz said he hopes to get Telemundo or Univision on board as event sponsors
and broadcast it live internationally.

In March, the Orange Bowl committee voted to cancel the parade because of
financial losses and deteriorating quality.