Bruno Mars will be driven to Bruno Mars Drive on Friday afternoon.
A parade and celebration of the newly minted street leading to Park MGM starts at 1 p.m. just north of Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip and cruises into Toshiba Plaza in front of T-Mobile Arena.
Park Avenue will then be renamed Bruno Mars Drive, honoring the Dolby Live headliner hours before his “Romantic Tour” opener at Allegiant Stadium. Friday’s show is the first of two performances kicking off the 71-show tour running through October.
MGM Resorts International made the call to rename the private street. Officials took the idea to Mars as part of his birthday, which is Oct. 8.
“He was thrilled,” MGM Resorts Executive Vice President of Entertainment Chris Baldizan said Saturday. “And now it’s coming to fruition.”
The parade will feature Mars-flavored spectacle: marching bands, double-decker buses, live music and some Vegas-specific elements.
Because it is Mars, we can’t rule out a performance should the mood strike him. And a casting call has gone out for 10 women to wave to the crowd, toss confetti and work T-shirt cannons, and for four guys to drive vintage cars in the event.
Mars joins such Vegas legends as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and Mel Torme to be honored with street names.
Friday’s event will also include a proclamation from Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson and a ceremonial state flag from Gov. Joe Lombardo.
The street name seems to solidify MGM Resorts’ relationship with Mars. The 16-time Grammy winner first performed at the MGM Grand in August 2013 and at T-Mobile Arena in July 2017 and December 2018.
He and his backing band, The Hooligans, have drawn more than 800,000 fans to Park MGM. Mars continues his partnership at The Pinky Ring, which opened at Bellagio in February 2024. He has performed several pop-up shows in the venue, and The Hooligans are frequent headliners.
But he has no shows currently on the Dolby Live schedule, largely because of his extended tour. Baldizan was asked if Mars is expected to resume his hit residency.
“I mean, absolutely, yeah, I would love it. I can’t speak for Bruno, but we have an incredible partnership with this man,” Baldizan said. “He is a world-class entertainer. We are more than fortunate to have him in our in our portfolio. He’s part of the family. He could have gone anywhere, anytime he wants, and he’s always stayed loyal to MGM Resorts.
“For us to have him in our family is just truly amazing.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.