JAY-Z’s ‘Made In America Festival’ Will Stay In Philadelphia
by Site Manager
Jay-Z‘ Made in America music festival will stay in Philadelphia after Mayor Jim Kenney reversed course on his decision to move the event.
Kenney and Roc Nation’s chief operating officer said Monday the festival would remain on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Had a productive meeting today with @RocNation about the future of @MIAFestival. We addressed each other’s concerns and came to an agreement after last week’s misunderstanding. The festival belongs here in Philly — and on the Parkway. https://t.co/Ezjvwjbmd6
— Jim Kenney (@PhillyMayor) July 23, 2018
“We think it’s a very important event for the city,” Kenney told reporters at City Hall. “We think it’s important for our profile, for our tourism and we want to make it work.”
Earlier, he said in a statement that the event belonged in Philadelphia — “the birthplace of our country” — and he was “optimistic that we can turn an unfortunate misunderstanding into a positive outcome and even stronger event.”
The city had said last week the annual festival would need to move to a new location starting in 2019, citing how long it takes to set up and knock down the two-day festival.
“It was overload with the folks out there, because we had the NFL draft, we have the Fourth of July thing, we have Made in America and there are events out there — there’s runs out there all the time —and those people just get a little fatigued. But we’ll figure out how to address those problems,” Kenney said.