Fyre Festival 2, the sequel to the disastrous 2017 festival, has been ‘postoned,’ less than two months before the music festival was set to take place.
Organizers informed ticket holders who had planned to attend fraudster founder Billy McFarland’s ill-fated festival that it had been postponed on Wednesday, according to ABC News.
‘The event has been postponed and a new date will be announced,’ the announcement read. ‘We have issued you a refund. Once the new date is announced, at that time, you can repurchase if it works for your schedule.’
The specific reasons for the postponement remain unclear.
The official website for Fyre 2 later reportedly deleted the announcement, writing that ‘FYRE Festival 2 is still on’ and organizers are ‘vetting new locations and will announce our host destination soon.’
Fyre Festival 2 was scheduled for May 30 to June 2 in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, with tickets having gone on sale in February. Previously it was supposed to take place in Isla Mujeres, but local authorities disputed that the proper permits were granted.
Fyre Festival 2, the sequel to the disastrous 2017 festival founded by fraudster Billy McFarland, has been postoned; McFarland seen in 2023
Fans quickly mocked the latest development online, with one sarcastically quipping, ‘Who could have imagined?’
‘This has to be a joke,’ someone else wrote on X. ‘Who could have possibly seen this coming?’ yet another asked.
‘I’m shocked,’ another chimed in.
‘You don’t say? Didn’t see that one coming,’ someone else added.
‘I can’t wait for the 2nd Netflix documentary!’
‘It’s a sequel no one asked for.’
Another mocked Billy, writing, ‘I wouldn’t buy a used car from this dude.’
‘The fact that ppl fell for this again is mind boggling.’
In March, Mexican government officials and luxury hotel venues were casting doubt on the return of infamous festival.
Isla Mujeres’ city hall released a damning statement, pouring cold water on McFarland’s claims revealing how the festival’s organizers have not yet even applied for the necessary permits to hold the event.
‘The General Directorate for Tourism of Isla Mujeres informs that no person or company has requested permits from this office or any other municipal government department for said event,’ the statement read.
Organizers informed ticket holders about the postponement on Wednesday, according to ABC News
The official website for Fyre 2 later deleted the announcement, writing that ‘FYRE Festival 2 is still on’ and organizers are ‘vetting new locations and will announce our host destination soon’
Fyre Festival 2 was scheduled for May 30 to June 2 in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, with tickets having gone on sale in February. Previously it was supposed to take place in Isla Mujeres, but local authorities disputed that the proper permits were granted; McFarland seen in 2014
McFarland was jailed for four years after guests paid up to $13,000 for a trashy unfinished site and canceled performances at the original festival
The revelation raised serious concerns about whether Fyre Festival 2 could legally proceed, despite convicted con artist McFarland’s confident assertions at the time that the event was still on and would go ahead as planned.
Just like its predecessor, Fyre Festival 2 has been aggressively marketing a high-end experience, with ticket packages costing as much as $25,000.
The Phoenix package, as listed on the festival’s website, includes four-day festival access for two, private transportation, and a lavish three-night stay at either Impression Isla Mujeres by Secrets or Almare All-Inclusive Resort.
Yet in another embarrassing twist, Mourad Essafi, the general manager of the Secrets resort publicly denied any affiliation with the festival.
‘We are not sponsoring Fyre Festival 2 or affiliated with it in any way. Reports to the contrary are false,’ Essafi declared on February 28.
Despite this the hotel is still listed on the festival’s website as a premium accommodation option, raising even more questions about the legitimacy of McFarland’s claims.
McFarland attempted to reassure ticket holders and festival-goers in a social media video.
He insisted that Fyre Festival 2 had secured contracts with ‘a number of villas, yachts, and hotels,’ though he conspicuously avoided naming specific locations.
After some hotels publicly disassociated themselves from the festival, McFarland took an aggressive stance stating how his team had ‘terminated those contracts’ after two hotels allegedly gave ‘misleading statements, saying they never heard of Fyre.’
While McFarland did not specify which hotels he was referring to, it remains unclear how many actual agreements are in place.
Fans quickly mocked the latest development online, with one sarcastically quipping, ‘Who could have imagined?’
‘We’re going to have artists across electronic, hip hop, pop and rock. However, it’s not just music,’ McFarland said to Today.
‘We might have a professional skateboarder do a demonstration. We might have an MMA champion teach you techniques in the morning.’
McFarland said attendees who cough up the million-dollar price tag will get a glamorous experience.
‘You will be on a boat, have the luxury yachts that we partner with who will be docked and parked outside the island,’ he said.
‘But once again, Fyre is not just about this, like, luxury experience. 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.’
Given the catastrophic failure of the original Fyre Festival in 2017, many are now questioning why McFarland is even bothering to stage a second attempt.
McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 for defrauding investors out of $26 million along with over $100,000 in additional fraudulent ticket-selling schemes.
McFarland agreed to pay back his victims. Along with jail time he was ordered to forfeit the cash.
After serving under four years of his six-year sentence, he was released to a halfway house, and was under house arrest until September 2022.
In February, McFarland wrote a lengthy statement insisting how the festival was definitely going ahead
Tickets to Fyre 2 don’t come cheap with one package selling for $25,000 for two
Mexican government officials and luxury hotel venues were casting doubt on the return of infamous Fyre Festival – this time branded as Fyre Festival 2
In another embarrassing twis the general manager of the Secrets resort, pictured, has publicly denied any affiliation with the festival
The infamous cheese sandwich went viral on social media during the original doomed festival
Celebrity faces of Fyre Festival included Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber – several of whom were subpoenaed for their role in the scam
Guests at the original festival were forced to wait for hours on end in the heat before being herded into makeshift tents on an island with no running water or electricity
After paying up to $12,000 for tickets, Fyre Festival’s guests were greeted with substandard accommodation, soggy food and poor security – before the entire event was cancelled before it even began
He told USA Today last week that $500,000 of the festival’s proceeds and an additional 10 percent of all profits would be allocated toward restitution.
The first Fyre Festival, held in the Bahamas in 2017, was infamously marketed the ‘cultural experience of the decade’, featuring influencer endorsements from the likes of Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Hailey Bieber.
Attendees were promised performances from major artists like Blink-182 and Migos, along with five-star accommodations and gourmet food.
Instead, when festival-goers arrived on the Bahamian island Exuma, it was a scene of chaos.
Artists had canceled, the promised luxury lodgings were actually Red Cross disaster-relief tents, and the now-iconic ‘gourmet meal’ turned out to be little more than a sad cheese sandwich in a Styrofoam box.
Numerous festival-goers posted pictures on social media of the shambolic scenes, leading to online mockery of the high prices many had paid.
Attendees were effectively stranded and had to be evacuated after just one night, cementing Fyre Festival’s place as one of the greatest scams in modern history.
