Nearly eight years after scamming thousands by promising the “greatest party the world had ever seen”, Billy McFarland, the convicted fraudster behind the infamous first Fyre Festival is back. McFarland has revealed details of the second iteration of the event, scheduled to take place between May 20 to June 2 on Isla Mujeres in Mexico.
“FYRE 2 is a three-day escape to the Mexican Caribbean where you’ll explore by day alongside your favorite talent and come together at night to celebrate with music,” read the announcement on Instagram with the header, “Fyre Festival 2 is real”.
A legit website for the event has also been launched where one can seemingly purchase real tickets and hospitality packages. The ticket prices are staggering, with prices ranging from Rs 1.2 lakh ($1,400) to Rs 9.5 crore ($1.1 million), for the highest level of luxury.
However, no artists have been confirmed to perform at the event with the kickoff date fast approaching.
“I’m sure many people think I’m crazy for doing this again. But I feel I’d be crazy not to do it again. After years of reflection and now thoughtful, the new team and I have amazing plans for Fyre 2,” McFarland said in a statement.
“The adventure seekers who trust the vision and take the leap will help make history.”
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Fyre Festival disaster
The 2017 edition of Fyre was the brainchild of McFarland and rapper Ja Rule. The duo advertised the event as the “cultural experience of the decade,” but when revelers arrived on the Bahamian island Exuma, they found lackluster cheese sandwiches, disaster relief-style tents and no music — after paying thousands of dollars to attend.
Notably, the promo campaign of the festival featured models like Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski partying on yachts. McFarland promised the travelers that they would be able to party with supermodels but ended up delivering a harrowing experience. Numerous festival-goers posted pictures on social media of the shambolic scenes, leading to online mockery of the high prices many had paid.
In 2018, McFarland admitted wire fraud and along with jail time he was ordered to forfeit $26 million. 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.
A 2019 Netflix documentary titled “Fyre Festival: The Greatest Party That Never Happened”, granted further notoriety for the scam he managed to pull off.