In a major WTF moment, tickets to Fyre Festival V2 have been announced. Yep, you heard us right. The biggest flop of 2017 is back for more. The festival’s founder took to Tik Tok to announce the news alongside a Broadway musical about the original catastrophe (we’re as baffled as you).
The festival’s co-founder, Billy McFarland, who set up Fyre alongside NYC rapper Ja Rule, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection to a scheme to defraud investors. During his time behind bars, he was subject to two stints in solitary confinement, which clearly drove him further to insanity because only a crazy person would make this mistake twice. Ja Rule was cleared of any wrongdoing for his role in the festival. McFarland was released early, announcing his plans for Fyre Festival’s return.
As part of the announcement, McFarland revealed how the idea came about. “It all started with a 7-month stint in solitary confinement,” he said before going into details. “I wrote out a 50-page plan to deal with the interest and demand in Fyre.”
Fyre Festival fell flat on its face in 2017 as guests were promised the best in food, art, music and adventure against the backdrop of an idyllic Bahamas island. The reality? Wet ground, shabby mattresses, no music and prison-standard meals, with your luggage left in a car park. Immaculate vibes, really, don’t you think?
Guests left dirty, cold, underwhelmed and unhappy after falling for Fyre’s influencer-led marketing campaign featuring Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Hailey Bieber, to name a few.
The 2017 festival’s supposed all-star line-up featured big names from Blink 182 to Skepta, Migos and Disclosure failed to show up. Hosting such an ambitious festival in the Bahamas didn’t just leave guests out of pocket:. McFarland also found himself in over $20 million worth of debt, with the guests, artists, and investors all owed money.
The first release of tickets were on sale for $499 (approximately £391) and have now sold out. Future releases will include tickets from $799 (approximately £626) all the way up to $7,999 (approximately £6,267).
What do you think? Will it be a case of second time lucky for Fyre Festival, or is it as doomed as the first? With Travis Scott’s love for niche performance locations, this could be exactly the platform he’s looking for after the Pyramids gig that never happened. All we know is it can’t be worse than the first time round… surely.
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