DISASTROUS music event Fyre Festival is making a highly controversial comeback – here’s everything we know so far about the uber exclusive sequel.
The second edition of the disastrous festival is set to happen eight years later, with a new twist of providing refunds and tickets priced at more than a million dollars.
Run by Billy McFarland, a known criminal, the upcoming Fyre Festival 2 is being touted as a game-changer in the festival scene, with the potential to revolutionize the industry.
McFarland, who is 33 years old, was convicted for fraud and spent four years in prison until May 2022 after admitting his involvement in wire fraud related to the failed Fyre Festival of 2017.
He told Today on Tuesday: “FYRE 2 is real. My dream is finally becoming a reality.
“FYRE 2 really isn’t about the past, and it’s not really about me. It’s about taking the vision, which is strong,”
The original event, which took place on the island Great Exuma in the Bahamas, had concertgoers paying between $1,000 to $12,000 for “total disorganization and chaos”, according to court filings.
Adverts promised punters the chance to party alongside glam influencers and mega celebs while lodging in luxury accommodations.
But rather than the promised once-in-a-lifetime experience, horrified customers were met with disaster relief tents, sodden mattresses, and depressing cheese sandwiches which spread like wildfire on social media.
Mega acts such as Blink-182, Pusha T, Tyga and Major Lazer all pulled out in the days leading up to the doomed festival.
The situation was so dire that a producer of the festival, Andy King, said in a Netflix documentary about the festival called Fyre, that he was prepared to offer oral sex in return for water.
After his release from jail, McFarland confirmed that the event would make its return.
He announced plans for Fyre Festival 2 in 2023, but those plans were ultimately scrapped and tickets were refunded before its confirmed comeback this year.
In a 2024 interview, he said: “Since 2016 Fyre has been the most talked about music festival in the world. Obviously, a lot of that has been negative.
“But I think that most people, once they kind of get under the hood and study the plans and see the team behind Fyre II, they see the upside.
“If it’s done well, I think Fyre has a chance to be this annual festival that really takes over the festival industry.”
This year’s festival will not be completely organised by McFarland, as a separate festival operator will handle details such as accommodations, ticketing and travel for the event instead.
So what do we know so far?
Fyre Festival 2 will now take place a month later than previously stated, from May 30 to June 2 in Mexico’s Isla Mujeres, in the Caribbean Sea.
The sunny island hosts stunning beaches like Playa Norte, exotic coral reefs and warm clear waters.
In terms of headliners, no artists have been confirmed yet, but McFarland said: “We’re going to have artists across electronic, hip hop, pop and rock. However, it’s not just music.
“We might have a professional skateboarder do a demonstration. We might have an MMA champion teach you techniques in the morning.”
He added that he “really hopes” and “expects” A-list performers to be confirmed in the near future.
A total of 2,000 tickets are up for grabs now on the Fyre website, with prices ranging from $1,400 to $1.1million.
Mastermind McFarland previously confirmed that he had already sold 100 tickets for $500 each.
There are now four different types of tickets: Fyre Ignite ($1,400), Fyre Fuego ($5,000), Fyre Phoenix ($25,000) and Prometheus God Of Fire ($1,100,000).
The cheapest $1,400 ticket grants a single person access to the four-day event without accommodation, whilst the million-dollar-plus ticket grants eight people 24/7 chauffeur service, flights, accommodation and either a private yacht or villa.
The Fyre website states that the most expensive ticket gives access to a range of activities including “on-stage access to the Water Stage, fight team access at the Fight Pit, a curated itinerary of FYRE Experiences, 24/7 private chauffeur service, dedicated on-site concierge and access to the PROMETHEUS Marina”.
McFarland said for the million-dollar ticker: “You will be on a boat, have the luxury yachts that we partner with who will be docked and parked outside the island.
“But once again, Fyre is not just about this, like, luxury experience,” he continued.
“It’s about the adventure. So you’ll be scuba diving with me. You’ll be bouncing around to other islands and other countries on small planes.”
He added that he is also working with an “incredible production company” who will be “handling everything from soup to nuts.”
