Luxury accommodation in a tropical resort. World-class hospitality. Take a “Border Elimination” tour during the day. Beachfront music performance at night. And the high fare is to be started.
All of this may sound familiar to those following the legendary legend of Fyre Festival, a badly fateful music carnival that in 2017 was such a spectacular failure that it spawned Duel documentary on Netflix and Hulu. The festival’s organizer Billy McFarland was sentenced to nearly four years in jail after convicted of charges including wire fraud.
But Mr. McFarland, 33, a self-proclaimed tech entrepreneur, is back – he is trying the whole thing.
Mr McFarland announced this week that Fyre Festival 2, all the traps listed above, is scheduled to be held on May 30-June 2 at Isla Mujeres on the island of Mexico, a few miles from Cancun and a resort. More specifically, the event will be held on the festival’s website, although the GPS coordinates provided on the festival’s website appear to point to landless attractions west of Isla Mujeres.
Skepticism is not out of place when it comes to a sequel to an event that seems like everything goes wrong, but people willing to roll dice can start right away because some tickets are already on sale.
What is the sequel plan?
The festival is advertised as an “exciting celebration of music, art, food, comedy, fashion, games, sports and treasure hunts – all in an amazing location in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.”
But no, the details were very little, and the organizers did not comment immediately. Although Mr McFarlane told NBC’s “Today” in an interview this week that these genres will include electronics, hip-hop, pop and rock, music artists have not been announced.
“I’m not responsible for booking talent,” McFarland added.
There are many plans. The Isla Mujeres city government said in a statement that there was no licence for the festival or approval.
How will ticketing work?
There are now 2,000 tickets, with prices ranging from $1,400 to wait-$1.1 million.
The $1.1 million ticket covers admission fees for eight attendees, known as the “Prometheus” tier and will include a round-trip ticket from Miami to Cancun, a Helicopter, take a helicopter fourth-order yacht or four-bedroom villa to Isla Mujeres.
Festival organizers described it as “not for the faint of heart, nor for the temporary attendees. It’s for those who are trying to surpass, who want not only to witness history, but also eager to share it.”
Doesn’t this sound like the original Fyre Festival?
Surely! Back in 2017, the festival was originally called the exclusive music-themed resort in the Bahamas, a five-star resort of Coachella. The event is scheduled to take place for two weekends in April 2017 and May 2017.
Mr McFarland, who teamed up with rapper JA Ruler, said on the company that he had booked musical performances like Lazer, Migos and Blink-182 for guests willing to pay a high price.
The event was hyped on social media by celebrities and influencers like Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski and Bella Hadid. . Mr McFarlane called them “Fyre Starters.”
They will be able to “start morning yoga every day and meditate on the beach” while enjoying “massage, henna tattoos, sound recovery, relaxing sessions and festival Bahamas Yankno parade.”
The high-end ticket package includes $400,000 “Palace of Artists,” which is said to include four beds, eight VIP tickets and a dinner with a festival performer.
What’s wrong?
When attendees arrived, they discovered that their luxury villa was actually a disaster relief tent on the makeshift campground. In some cases, their delicacy is cheese sandwiches. The performances of the headlines were supported. Thousands of guests were trapped. Many local businesses also lost money after agreeing to contract with Mr. McFarlane’s various goods and services. A local restaurant owner reported that the loss was more than $50,000 and was eventually recovered by donating to the GoFundMe page.
According to the lawsuit, the festival sold a total of about 8,000 tickets for two weekends, but only a few rental planes took it to the great Exuma Island, which is about to stage the event.
In other words, it is an unrestricted disaster.
It turns out that Mr. McFarlane and his company have been selling tickets even before they nailed the site. Fyre employees later said seniors fabricated some of the more luxurious elements of the festival just to see if people would pay for them. (For example, the artist’s palace was never built.)
In a statement, organizers accused “a situation that we cannot control.”
Why did Billy McFarland end up in jail?
Two months after the Fyre Day collapse, Mr. McFarlane was arrested by federal agents and charged with wire fraud. He later signed a guilty plea and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Prosecutors said McFarland cheated $26 million of investors and customers, both his role in organizing the festival and in order to launch a fake ticket sales business when he was on bail.
“I probably added a few years to the sentence. I just made a mistake after my decision,” McFarland told Times after being released from prison in 2022. The decision.”
Why did Mr. McFarlane try again?
Mr McFarlane said on Instagram that many would think he was “crazy to do it for it again”.
He still owes nearly $26 million to the people he cheated, and “Today” reports that a portion of Fyre Festival 2’s revenue will flow to them. Mr McFarlane also said he is working with event producers, Lost Nights and established suppliers in Mexico to help the event go smoothly.
Mr McFarland said on Instagram: “After years of thinking and considerate planning now, the new team has made amazing plans for Fyre 2. A suitor who trusts his vision and makes a leap will make history. Thanks to my partner for a second chance .”
