Las Vegas Adds Steve Aoki, a Free Stream and a Backstreet Boys Afterparty to Race Week

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is one week away, and the organizers want everybody to know that the race is only one part of the show. On Monday, November 9, they announced the music line-up for the weekend, and on the same day Apple said it will stream the whole event for free in the United States.

Let’s start with the music. DJ and producer Steve Aoki and the electronic music artist MORTEN will perform on the grid before the race on Saturday, November 21, and the singer Jordin Sparks will sing the U.S. national anthem. Aoki is coming back to the Las Vegas grid after performing there before. MORTEN will play ahead of the driver introductions, which became a favorite part of this weekend for many fans after the viral moment between Sergio Pérez and Bruce Buffer, the famous UFC ring announcer.

“We want every part of the Las Vegas Grand Prix to feel distinctly Las Vegas – from the anticipation on the Grid to the moment the cars take off,” said Emily Prazer, president and CEO of Las Vegas Grand Prix, Inc.

There is more on other stages. Sean Paul, Disclosure and Two Friends will headline the T-Mobile Stage at Sphere, and after the race the Backstreet Boys will play at Sphere at the first ever F1 Afterparty, on Saturday, November 21. Sphere and the Grand Prix also extended their partnership until 2030, so the giant ball will stay a part of the race for some more years. In the Paddock Club the guests will see local entertainers, among them Colin Cloud and the cast of Now You See Me Live. A few days before race week, the F1 Hub presented by American Express opened at The Venetian Resort, a two-story place with shopping and interactive things for fans.

Not everybody can see the grid shows, of course. According to the organizers, some of the acts can be seen from the Heineken Silver Main Grandstand, Skybox and Trackside Tavern, and also from the Paddock Club, Wynn Grid Club and Gordon Ramsay at F1 Garage.

For people who will watch from home in the U.S., the news from Apple is maybe even more important. Apple TV is the exclusive broadcast partner of Formula 1 in the United States this year, and the Las Vegas weekend will be free to watch on the Apple TV app with no subscription needed. This means practice, qualifying and the race. The app works on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Android, Windows, Xbox and PlayStation, and also in a web browser. Apple has already done the same thing for some other weekends this season, for example the Bahrain Grand Prix that was held in Malaysia.

The schedule is different from most races, because Las Vegas runs at night and from Thursday to Saturday. First and second practice are on Thursday, November 19, third practice and qualifying on Friday, November 20, and the race on Saturday, November 21.

Formula 1 Academy, the all-female series, also returns to Las Vegas for the second year in a row and will race on the same streets. And the teams are getting into the mood too: Ferrari already showed special black-and-yellow hats and T-shirts that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will wear in Las Vegas.

On the sporting side, this race opens the last triple-header of the season. After Las Vegas the championship goes to Qatar and then to Abu Dhabi for the finale. The titles are already decided, Kimi Antonelli is the drivers’ champion and Mercedes won the constructors’, but the fights for the places behind them are still on. Max Verstappen won in Las Vegas last year after both McLarens were disqualified, and this June Formula 1 extended the race contract until 2037.