Fyre Festival 2 issues refund for Mexico event, stops ticket sales
The sequel to the Fyre Festival is in doubt (again) after months of announcements led to one location change and the confirmation of zero musicians. A flurry of messages to ticket holders and media reports Wednesday indicated that the follow-up to the infamously fraudulent festival, previously scheduled to begin next month in Mexico, would not go ahead as planned.
ABC News reported Wednesday that a ticket holder received a message saying the event, set to run May 30 to June 2 in the resort town of Playa del Carmen, had been “postponed.” The New York Times reported some ticket holders received a message that organizers were looking for a new location after a dispute with local officials. “We are vetting new locations and will announce our host destination soon. Our priorities remain unchanged: delivering an unforgettable, safe, and transparent experience,” it read.
The Washington Post could not confirm those statements, but a reporter who planned to attend the festival received an email receipt for a refund worth $1,604.17 from Soldout.com, the ticketing partner for the event. On Wednesday evening, the Soldout.com page for the event no longer listed any ticket options. An organizer for Fyre 2 did not immediately respond to emails from The Post.
A postponement or cancellation would be another setback for Fyre founder Billy McFarland, who was sentenced to six years in prison for defrauding investors of $26 million over the first version of the festival in 2017, which left concertgoers stuck with little food and flimsy conditions amid promises of a premier concert event. The original Fyre Festival became the subject of two documentaries and widespread internet memes.
McFarland announced a sequel to the Fyre Festival in February - nearly three years after he was released from prison - immediately raising eyebrows and suspicions. The original Fyre Festival, with sparse amenities for attendees who had paid for a luxury event, was held in the Bahamas in 2017.
“I’m sure many people think I’m crazy for doing this again,” McFarland said in a release posted to Instagram when the sequel event was announced. “But I feel I’d be crazy not to do it again. After years of reflection and now thoughtful planning, the new team and I have amazing plans for FYRE 2. The adventure seekers who trust the vision and take the leap will help make history.”
Tickets went on sale in February, with packages ranging from $1,400 to $1.1 million, but the new festival quickly ran into problems.
Fyre Festival 2 was initially set for Isla Mujeres, another Mexican tourist hot spot near Cancún. But a tourism official for the island said the event didn’t exist, and a Facebook page for the location said no permits for such a festival were approved, either.
Organizers said in March they had moved the location to Playa del Carmen, and a luxury hotel there confirmed a partnership with Fyre to The Post. However, no lineup of performers has been announced, raising speculation about whether the event was real.
Then, in April, officials with Playa del Carmen disputed claims of the festival being held there. But McFarland said that he had conversations with the local government about the event, sharing a timeline of events on the Fyre Festival’s Instagram page. “All media reports suggesting our team has not been working with the government of PDC are simply inaccurate and based on misinformation,” the page read.
McFarland has yet to comment on the postponed festival or say if it will be rescheduled. As of Thursday morning, the festival’s website still showed the event as set for May 30 in Playa del Carmen, but a link to buy tickets wasn’t working.
A merchandise page was still selling $70 T-shirts that say “Fyre Festival 2 is real.”