(Miami, FL) To respect the City of Miami’s COVID-19 safety concerns as stated by Mayor Francis Suarez, the 35th Anniversary of the Big Orange rise will not take place on Thursday, December 31, 2020.

The “Big Orange”, is Miami’s public art traditional countdown centerpiece of the New Year in Miami. It is 35 feet in diameter, 2000 pounds, artistic icon made up of 2,000 LED lights and 400 feet of neon, created by industrial artist Steve Carpenter, a.k.a Mr. Neon, of Miami Vice fame,  that  rises 400 feet to the top of its downtown home site, the Hotel InterContinental Miami, and shine above the downtown Miami skyline, to ring in a new year,  2021.

This year, The Greater Miami Host Committee, founding producer, Chaired by Monty Trainer, looked forward to the following… What might have been. Beneath the Big Orange, there would have been the traditional NYE laser show with a countdown clock. This year, we planned a Thank You message loop to recognize Health Care Heroes, first responders, and essential workers, with Happy New Year in the languages of our community.

The Big Orange is an official Time Ball of the World and is dubbed “The Times Square of the South”, and is recognized as the official symbol of the State Fruit of Florida. 

It is the largest NYE attraction in South Florida has been seen by millions the world over via television, live stream, and social media. It has drawn hundreds of thousands each year locally, and has become an attraction destination for national and international visitors especially from the Caribbean, South and Central America who come to see “La Gran Naranja”.

“For the last three decades, the Big Orange has always been presented. It was all that remained as a part of the Orange Bowl Parade Celebrations, sometime being the only NYE attraction in South Florida, such was the case Post 9/11, when the “Big Orange” became a symbol of Resilience and the “Spirit of America” nationwide. The pandemic is the reason we must salute the family-friendly Big Orange. 

It stands as a symbol for positivity, hope, prosperity for a united healthy, happy, and safe New Year” !- Monty Trainer, Founding Chairman, Greater Miami Host Committee

ABOUT THE BIG ORANGE

Thirty-five years ago, the Greater Miami Host Committee, Chaired by Monty Trainer, rose to the occasion with the continuation of the festivities of the Orange Bowl Parade, with the commissioning of a New Year’s Eve time ball attraction. The Big Orange is a vision of Vice Chair, Rosario Kennedy, who had just completed the five million dollar fundraising with Mr. Trainer for the redesign of the Mildred and Claude Pepper Bayfront Park by the 20th Century’s foremost American sculptor, Isamu Noguchi , as an outdoor gathering place which would bring Miami’s families, generations, and diverse ethnic residents and international visitors together for year-round cultural festivals and events, created by then Executive Director, Rodney Barreto, who expanded the concept as a celebration to ignite the same enthusiasm and anticipation as New York’s Times Square “Big Apple” in Miami. 

Together with the City of Miami, Bayfront Park Management Trust, Chaired by the City of Miami, Commissioner J.L. Plummer, Jr., now Commissioner Emeritus, The Orange Bowl Committee, and The Hotel Intercontinental Miami as the host site, the Big Orange New Year’s Eve Celebration became a reality. 

A year later, the Big Orange, the lighted neon pop art Miami icon was designed by Industrial Artist, Steve Carpenter, (Mr. Neon), whose neon and set designs have been seen in feature films and television specials set in Miami, i.e. “Miami Vice”, “Bad Boys “, “The Fast and Furious” Burn Notice, CSI: Miami , Marley and Me and others.