Latest news with #Fyre2
Fox News
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Fyre Festival 2 'postponed' after Mexico plans derailed, ticket vendor issues refunds
The ticketing company that partnered with Fyre Festival 2 told Fox News Digital that the do-over event, scheduled to take place in Mexico starting next month, has been "officially postponed" just a week after its organizers promised a successful event. Billy McFarland, creator of the disastrous original Fyre Festival eight years ago, served four years in prison for financial crimes after organizing the event in 2017 that promised attendees world-class music acts and entertainment but ended up scamming people out of thousands of dollars. "It is our understanding that the organizers of Fyre Festival 2 have officially postponed the event. At this time, no new date or location has been announced," which is listed as a Fyre Festival 2 partner on the event's website, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "All customers who purchased tickets directly through have been issued full refunds. Our commitment to customer satisfaction is reflected in our 100% Money-Back Guarantee, which applies to all events on our platform." But despite the apparent postponement, nothing on the event's website or social media pages mentioned anything about a postponement. As of Friday morning, Fyre Festival was still promoting merchandise on its Instagram account — namely, sweatshirts that read, "Fyre Festival 2 is real." Fyre Festival 2 did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital. Last week, Fyre Festival organizers fired back at the Playa del Carmen's statement saying the Mexican city's government had no knowledge of the event. "FYRE has been working directly with the government of Playa del Carmen (PDC) and their officials since March 5, 2025, to ensure a safe and successful event," organizers said. "All media reports suggesting our team has not been working with the government of PDC are simply inaccurate and based on misinformation," the statement reads, along with screenshots and photos of "relevant permits, payments, and communications" with Playa del Carmen officials. "FYRE has operated as a good partner with PDC government and has followed the proper processes and procedures to lawfully host an event." McFarland also posted a video of a press conference he and his team held in Playa del Carmen on March 28, which included government representatives from the area. The statement came in response to Playa del Carmen's social media post saying that "[i]n response to rumors about a supposed event called 'Fyre 2,' we inform you that no event of that name will be held in Playa del Carmen." It was the second statement from a government entity denying the festival's existence since March. The event was originally scheduled to take place in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, between those dates, but it recently moved to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, after the Isla Mujeres said Fyre Festival organizers had not requested permits in the popular vacation town. The two government statements denying the event's legitimacy have prompted criticism that the do-over event could fail like the original Fyre Festival did. McFarland, who has been out of prison since 2022, has promised to deliver Fyre Festival for real this time, dubbing the return event Fyre Festival 2. Tickets for Fyre Festival 2, which was scheduled to take place between May 30 and June 2 in Mexico, start at $1,400 per person for general admission and go up from there. The most expensive ticket sells for more than $1 million and offers private air and yacht travel, luxury villa accommodations and festival access over four days to eight people. In 2017, Fyre Festival guests arrived in the Bahamas to find bare-bones tents when they were promised luxury accommodations; cheap, boxed meals when they were promised a high-end culinary experience; unclean port-o-potties; and canceled music acts that they paid to see over the course of the festival. The original Fyre Fest promised music acts including Blink 182, Migos and other artists; celebrity model attendees, including the Hadid sisters and Emily Ratajkowski; luxury accommodations and fine food, with tickets ranging from $1,200 to over $100,000. After the festival's failure, it went viral on social media when Hulu and Netflix published documentaries about the failed beach bash, making the #fyrefraud hashtag go viral at the time. The festival reached a settlement with 277 ticket holders in 2021, when it was ordered to pay each recipient an award of $7,220.
Boston Globe
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Fyre Festival 2 issues refund for Mexico event, stops ticket sales
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 the ticketing partner for the event. On Wednesday evening, the page for the event no longer listed any ticket options. An organizer for Fyre 2 did not immediately respond to emails from The Post. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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.'
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Reboot of disaster-hit Fyre Festival postponed, US media reports
The scheduled dates and location of Fyre Festival 2 have been thrown into doubt, according to US media reports. The reboot of the 2017 Fyre Festival - which made international headlines, sparked a hit Netflix documentary and resulted in organiser Billy McFarland going to jail for fraud - was due to take place in Mexico from 30 May to 2 June. McFarland's second attempt to stage the event was announced not long after he was released from prison, with ticket prices ranging from $1,400 (£1,058) to $1.1m (£831,534). But now the organisers are reportedly looking for a new location for the festival, with the scheduled dates uncertain. The organisers said in an update reported by NBC News and the New York Times that the event was "still on". "We are vetting new locations and will announce our host destination soon. Our priorities remain unchanged: delivering an unforgettable, safe, and transparent experience," the update said. McFarland told NBC News the date is dependent on location. The statements came after a message to ticket holders said the event had been postponed, NBC and ABC reported. BBC News has reached out to Fyre Festival 2 organisers for comment. The uncertainty follows two local governments in Mexico saying they had no planning records for the festival that organisers had said would take place in their areas. In February, organisers announced the festival's location as Isla Mujeres, an island off Cancún. However, the local city council posted on Facebook that "no person or company has requested permits from this office or any other Municipal Government department for said event". The event was re-announced with a new location in Playa del Carmen. Local officials there said on X that "no event with this name has reached our city". "Following a responsible review of the situation, it confirms that there is no registration, planning or conditions indicating the realisation of the event in the municipality," a translation of the statement read. McFarland and Fyre Festival 2 posted documents on Instagram that they said showed approval for the event. One document indicated permission for 250 people at a venue. McFarland had said 1,800 tickets were for sale. To many, the latest developments will come as little surprise. The original Fyre was promoted by supermodels and celebrities as an exclusive getaway for the ultra-rich, and the location was hyped as a private island once owned by drug lord Pablo Escobar. But festival-goers arrived in the Bahamas to find all the talent cancelled, bare mattresses to sleep on in storm-ravaged tents and cheese sandwiches in takeaway containers to eat. McFarland was sentenced in 2018 to six years in jail for wire fraud, and was also ordered to return $29m to investors. He was freed in 2022 under an early release programme but remains on probation until August. Last year, McFarland announced the reboot, saying "Fyre 2 has to work". He claimed he had spent a year planning it, and had already sold 100 tickets at an "early bird" rate of $499. It is unclear how many tickets have been sold to date. No line-up for the festival has been announced. Last year, Andy King, an investor in the first Fyre Festival, issued a warning to anyone interested in going to its planned reboot: "Proceed with caution." Mr King, who lost $1m in the original debacle, told the BBC that McFarland was "known for the biggest failure in pop culture and wants to flip the script. But I'm not sure he's going about it the right way." Inside the world's biggest festival flop
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Fyre Festival 2 location and dates uncertain, US media reports
The scheduled dates and location of Fyre Festival 2 have been thrown into doubt, according to US media reboot of the 2017 Fyre Festival, which made international headlines, sparked a hit Netflix documentary and resulted in organiser Billy McFarland going to jail for fraud, was due to take place in Mexico from 30 May to 2 second attempt - announced not long after he was released from prison - advertised tickets ranging from $1,400 (£1,058) to $1.1m (£831,534).But now the organisers are reportedly looking for a new location for the festival, with the scheduled dates uncertain. The organisers said in an update reported by NBC News and the New York Times that the event was "still on". "We are vetting new locations and will announce our host destination soon. Our priorities remain unchanged: delivering an unforgettable, safe, and transparent experience," the update told NBC News the date is dependent on BBC has reached out to Fyre 2 for comment. The uncertainty comes after two local governments in Mexico said they had no planning records for the festival that organisers had said would take place in their February, organisers announced the festival's location as Isla Mujeres, an island off Cancú the local city council posted on Facebook that "no person or company has requested permits from this office or any other Municipal Government department for said event."The event was re-announced with a new location in Playa del Carmen. That local government posted on X that "no event with this name has reached our city"."Following a responsible review of the situation, it confirms that there is no registration, planning or conditions indicating the realisation of the event in the municipality," a translation of the statement and Fyre Festival 2 posted documents on Instagram that they said showed approval for the event. One document indicated permission for 250 people at a venue. McFarland had said 1,800 tickets were for many, the latest developments will come as little surprise. The original Fyre was promoted by supermodels and celebrities as an exclusive getaway for the ultra-rich, and the location was hyped as a private island once owned by drug lord Pablo festival-goers arrived in the Bahamas to find all the talent cancelled, bare mattresses to sleep on in storm-ravaged tents and cheese sandwiches in takeaway containers to was sentenced in 2018 to six years in jail for wire fraud, and was also ordered to return $29m to was freed in 2022 under an early release programme but remains on probation until year, McFarland announced the reboot, saying "Fyre 2 has to work".He claimed he had spent a year planning it, and had already sold 100 tickets at an "early bird" rate of $499. It is unclear how many tickets have been sold to date. No line-up for the festival has been year, Andy King, an investor in the first Fyre Festival, issued a warning to anyone interested in going to its planned reboot: "Proceed with caution."Mr King, who lost $1m in the original debacle, told the BBC that McFarland was "known for the biggest failure in pop culture and wants to flip the script. But I'm not sure he's going about it the right way."
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
In this year's least surprising news, Fyre Festival 2 has been postponed
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. To absolutely no one's surprise at all, Fyre Festival 2, the upcoming Mexican festival promoted by convicted fraudster Billy McFarland, has reportedly been postponed for a second time. The festival – the sequel to the disastrous 2017 event that spawned two documentaries, Hulu's Fyre Fraud and Netflix's Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened – was originally scheduled to take place in 2023 According to ABC News, ticket holders daft enough to part with up to $25,000 for admission have now received an email reading, "The event has been postponed and a new date will be announced. 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 news comes a week after the proposed host city, Playa del Carmen, denied all knowledge of the event in an official statement. The statement read: "Regarding the information that has begun to circulate about a supposed event called 'Fyre 2', the municipal government of Playa del Carmen informs that no event of that name will be held in our city. "After a responsible review of the situation, it is confirmed that there are no records, plans, or conditions that indicate the holding of such an event in the municipality. "This municipal government is acting responsibly and with commitment, always prioritising public order, safety, and social harmony. In response, McFarland posted, "Fyre has been working directly with the government of Playa del Carmen (PDC) and their officials since March 5, 2025 to ensure a safe and successful event. All media reports suggesting our team has not been working with the government of PDC are simply inaccurate and based on misinformation." Fyre 2 was scheduled to take place from 30 May to 2 June 2025, with tickets on sale for $1400 to $25,000. At the time of writing, tickets are still listed as available for purchase on the festival's website. The original Fyre Festival, scheduled to be held in the Bahamas in 2017, swiftly descended into chaos and ended with zero artists performing, panicked guests fighting over lodgings and food scraps, festival producer Andy King being encouraged to perform fellatio to obtain water and promoter McFarland sentenced to six years in jail after defrauding investors of $27.4 million.
