All eyes are on Vegas this weekend, with over 2000 private jets expected to fly into airports around Las Vegas, as the stars descend on sin city for the biggest party in town – the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
While F1 drivers zip down the strip, bathed in the electric glow of its opulent casinos, music will mix with the motorsport at countless events including artists: will.i.am, J Balvin, Tiësto, John Legend, Keith Urban, Kylie Minogue, Thirty Seconds to Mars and more.
Red Bull has constructed a 20,000-square-foot hospitality complex where the centre piece is the Holzhaus, an alpine inspired three-level party palace for VVIPs and team use only.
Or for US$7,000 you can mingle with David Beckham and Shaquille O’Neal at Club SI hosting Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit and Saturday Race Night party.
A quick glance at the companies setting up camp around the 6.1Km circuit reads like the New York Stock Exchange, with American Express, Heineken, Hilton Grand Vacations, MGM Resorts International and others constructing luxurious trackside suites.
The Bellagio Fountain Club in the heart of the Strip will provide the backdrop for the winner’s stage and post-race ceremonies but if you do not already have a ticket, which started at US$11,000 you are too late.
Setting up the race has come at considerable expense, with Liberty Media CFO Brian Wilding detailing capital expenditure costs of US$435 million (A$684 million) up to the end of September for the entire grand prix build, bringing the total cost of setting up the race to at least $1.06 billion.
The entire 6.2Km course has been resurfaced ahead of the event.
According to Formula 1, between 12 and 25 centimetres of existing road was ripped out and the re-surfacing work involved 60,000 tonnes of base-layer pacing to prepare the track, on top of which was layered 43,000 tonnes of asphalt to form the circuit surface.
On top of the track re-surfacing work, F1 also installed 1750 floodlights, 18 temporary grandstands, trackside barriers and pedestrian bridges — so while people can continue to commute and tour the 24-hour city.
