Since the initial arguably disastrous Fyre Festival in 2017 that landed its creator Billy McFarland a sentence of 6 years in prison for wire fraud and now owes investors $26 million. Many are wondering how McFarland, who was just released a year ago, is planning to pay this back and redeem himself.
On Twitter, he stated that he plans to “do what he does best” which is to throw an unforgettable and unique, luxury festival. While this was the initial intention of the first Fyre Festival, it’s no secret, following two different Netflix documentaries, that every mark was completely missed. McFarland recruited big names to promote the event like Hailey Beiber, Kendall Jenner, and Emily Ratajkowski. This initially reassured fans that the epic island disaster was worth the up to $75,000 a ticket.
Many attendants were drawn to the smoke screen of a private island with villas and luxury accommodations, as well as big artist names being promised. All of the artists, including Blink-182, Pusha T, and Lil Yachty backed out just days before the festival. Upon attending the festival, attendants discovered McFarland’s definition of luxury was emergency relief tents, soaked mattresses, and cheese sandwiches.
Many attendants even found themselves stranded without adequate food, water, and shelter. The locals of the Bahamas where the festival took place were recruited for catering and labor for the event, and still haven’t been compensated for their work. McFarland went to Twitter to announce the comeback of Fyre Festival and how he plans to redeem himself, stating, “Tell me why you should be invited.”
It’s unknown when or how Fyre Festival 2 will come to fruition, the only thing that’s guaranteed is it will not take place in the Bahamas. The Prime Minister of the Bahamas stated that there has been no action taken regarding a Fyre Festival 2 in the Bahamas, but that he will absolutely not condone or allow its occurrence there.
There’s no doubt that Fyre Festival will need a new home and a new game plan for a chance at success the second time around, especially with the bad blood swirling around the festival and its creators. Many don’t see a possible comeback in the future for Fyre Festival, however many will undoubtedly buy tickets purely driven by curiosity and a hunger for chaos.
