Fyre Festival 2, the much-hyped followup to the disastrous original in 2017, has run into some huge obstacles. Now it’s OFFICIAL — festival organizers have announced that the festival WON’T take place in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. The arts festival was first scheduled for May 30–June 2. Its glitzy website lured attendees with the promise of a lavish, three-day, VIP experience on a privately owned island. With the recent news, ticketholders have been left with a mix of confusion and fear.
The festival is scheduled to offer convenient new ticket packages. Individual attendee tickets are available for $1,400, or enjoy the full VIP experience with the limited edition “Prometheus God of Fyre” pass at $1.1 million, which features free lodging and a private air safari for eight guests. Attendees were accustomed to paying $1,000 to $12,000 per person for previous events.
Marketing it heavily through social media influencers, Fyre Festival 2 sought to deliver an experience to end all experiences. The event’s credibility took an early hit when its website was made to announce a last-minute postponement. This put ticketholders in a position of uncertainty about the future of their purchased tickets.
In a follow-up statement, festival organizers broadly denied plans for Fyre Festival 2 to happen at the sprawling Mexican resort town. “Due to this, we have decided to move Fyre Festival 2 elsewhere,” they stated. Soon after that announcement went live, they promised to refund anyone who had already bought tickets.
At least at first, the organizers behind Fyre Festival 2 had promised to find an alternative location on Isla Mujeres, an island that sits just off Cancún’s coast. They worked with local festival operators and hotel groups to bring the event to life. They partnered with concierge services and ticket providers to make the transition to this brand new location seamless. This is something Isla Mujeres tourism officials have vehemently disputed. Advocates claim there were no issued permits for the festival.
Billy McFarland, the promoter behind that disastrous festival, similarly focused on the necessity of location—just not the right one. He announced that the event’s date depends on this consideration. We’re in the process of vetting new locations and will be announcing our 2024 host destination shortly. Our priorities remain unchanged: delivering an unforgettable, safe, and transparent experience,” said the organizers in their formal statement.
After its disastrous inaugural run, McFarland has good reason to be hopeful about rescuing the festival’s reputation. He knows that much work remains to be done. He noted, “We have the chance to embrace this storm and really steer our ship into all the chaos that has happened, and if it’s done well, I think Fyre has a chance to be this annual festival that really takes over the festival industry.”
Despite these assurances from McFarland and the organizers, uncertainty looms over the festival’s future as it grapples with logistical issues and public skepticism. The event’s website echoed this sentiment with a statement: “Fyre 2 Festival is postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date in the future.” It took the somewhat curious step of saying that tickets were at the moment “not available.”