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Fyre Festival revived? Viral botched influencer event sets ‘second chance’ in Mexico

BBG News

“Fyre Festival 2 is real.”

Billy McFarland, the previously convicted fraudster and organizer of the first unsuccessful Fyre Festival in 2017, made an announcement on Monday. According to him, McFarland and the official Instagram account for the defunct influencer event declared that a second Fyre Festival will be happening soon, with tickets now available for purchase.

As a movie buff, I’ve heard my fair share of skepticism about my decision to revisit this project. But to me, not embarking on it again feels like madness. The passage of time has given me fresh insights, and careful planning now ensures that the team and I are ready to create something truly exceptional with FYRE 2.

He added: “Thank you to my partners for the second chance.”

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Andy King, the man who gained notoriety through a Netflix documentary and internet humor surrounding a sex-related topic, is set to collaborate again with Billy McFarland on the second iteration of the Fyre Festival.

The McFarland-Ja Rule organized Fyre Festival, as detailed on their website, is set to take place on Isla Mujeres, Mexico from May 30th to June 2nd. However, the first Fyre Festival in 2017, promoted as two weekends of a high-end music event on a private island in Exuma, Bahamas, turned out to be quite different for ticket holders who paid over $10,000 each. Instead, they encountered canceled performances, tents that couldn’t withstand stormy weather, and disappointing cheese sandwiches. This disastrous event, later dubbed “Fyre,” became a viral sensation and the focus of several documentaries, including Netflix’s “Fyre.

In the year 2018, McFarland admitted guilt for swindling investors out of approximately $26 million in a Coachella-like event and over $100,000 through a fraudulent ticket selling business. A New York judge labeled him as a “repeated fraudster.” Consequently, McFarland was given six years in federal prison but was released early and placed under house arrest in 2022. Since then, he has been working on a new phase for Fyre.

If the news about a hypothetical Fyre Festival 2 seems familiar, it’s probably because McFarland initially announced ticket sales for this event in August of 2023. However, unlike the original, this planned return to the Caribbean never materialized and all tickets were refunded.

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Billy McFarland, who was previously found guilty of fraud, is offering tickets for Fyre Festival 2. However, the event’s lineup remains unannounced, and the only information given about the location is that it will be in the Caribbean.

The latest Fyre Festival announcement offers four different ticket prices, starting from $1,400 and going up to $1.1 million. It hints at a thrilling event filled with music, art, food, comedy, fashion, gaming, sports, and treasure hunting. Despite this, the website does not yet reveal the list of artists performing.

Instead of the festival, FYRE Experiences will roll out progressively in multiple experiential installments prior to each event.

McFarland shared with NBC’s “Today” during an interview that his long-held dream is now materializing, and he emphasized that the Fyre Festival 2 isn’t focused on past events. He declined to confirm if the talent has been secured for the festival, instead hinting that the performers will be announced at a later time.

The Fyre Festival’s official site indicates that ticket bundles are scarce and likely to vanish swiftly. As for whether a Fyre Festival 2 will emerge from the embers of the original event or continue to be engulfed in the same social media inferno, time will tell.

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2025-02-24 23:01

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