Hey - are you comfortably rich and (most importantly) eye-wateringly naive? Do you have a spare $1.1 million currently burning a hole in your wallet that you’re itching to get rid of? If so, do you fancy buying a ticket to the rebooted Fyre Festival?
Yes, that is the enticing offer convicted fraudster Billy McFarland is dangling in front of the wealthy and foolish of our world. Fyre Festival 2 is, apparently, go. And its secret location was revealed yesterday to be Isla Mujeres, off the Mexican coast. It’s set to take place between 30 May and 2 June this year.
You will of course know of McFarland and the Fyre festival from the 2019 Netflix documentary, Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, a darkly comic tale that uncovered serious mismanagement. Punters had been promised a weekend of ‘luxury’ experiences; what they were confronted with was a disaster zone with a lack of running water and cheese sandwiches in lieu of ‘gourmet’ dining. McFarland was prosecuted for fraud and in 2018 was sentenced to six years in jail.
He was released in 2022 and is seemingly determined to get it right this time. “I’m sure many people think I’m crazy for doing this again,” said the disgraced fraudster. “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. Thank you to my partners for the second chance.”
Fyre 2 has a number of packages, from general access tickets, right up to a (that word again) luxury ‘prometheus’ package that includes intimate dinners and exclusive excursions, which will set you back some $1.1 million.
Those who were burnt by Fyre first time have already warned punters about being taken in by McFarland. Andy King, an investor who lost $1million in the 2017 festival told the BBC last September that he saw “red flags” in Fyre 2.
“He’s shooting from the hip again,” he said, before urging people to “proceed with caution”. He explained: "I'm just seeing a lot of red flags and a lot of red lights. And I feel bad, it saddens me.”
McFarland was also reputedly instrumental in convincing a number of hip-hop artists to endorse Donald Trump’s campaign for president last year. Make of that what you will.
