THE mastermind behind Fyre Festival 2 has hit back at claims made by a Mexican tourist board that the event does not exist.
Convicted fraudster Billy McFarland is aiming to bring back the event – just eight years after the first version was a disaster.
McFarland, who served four years in prison after being convicted of fraud, has said the event will take place on the Mexican island of Isla Mujeres between May 30 and June 2.
He has described Fyre Festival 2 as a “three-day escape.”
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But, local officials have claimed they’ve had no knowledge about the festival taking place.
“For us, this is an event that does not exist,” Edgar Gasca, from the Isla Mujeres tourism board, told The Guardian.
They claimed that no one has applied for permits from the local board.
McFarland rubbished the claims made in a defiant Instagram video.
“I figured it would be best to hear directly from me what’s actually happening,” he told his fans.
“First, Fyre 2 is real.
“Second we have incredible partners leading the festival.
“They’re in charge of all the logistics, productions and operations.
“This includes an incredible production team in Mexico who does not f around.”
He revealed his production and logistics teams wouldn’t take on organizing a fake festival.
In February, McFarland announced that tickets for the festival were on sale.
He revealed the event is being produced by Lostnights – a producer with over 20 years of experience.
Global and local teams will take revelers on “boundary pushing” excursions in the day.
McFarland revealed Fyre is working with groups to organize hospitality and ticket packages.
He wants revelers to “create core memories” and “life-changing relationships.”
HYPED UP EVENT
The initial Fyre Festival was hyped up to be an event like Coachella, but this didn’t materialize.
Some attendees paid as much as $12,000 for the event, which was held in the Bahamas, only to be met with haphazard tents and mattresses.
The lavish accommodation that attendees were promised did not exist.
Attendees were promised luxury meals, but received cheese sandwiches in takeout boxes.
Images of the disappointing meals went viral on social media.
Stars such as Blink-182 and the electronic dance music group, Major Lazer, were initially slated to perform, but they all pulled out.
Some ticketholders were left stranded in The Bahamas.
McFarland and Ja Rule, the festival’s co-founder, swiftly canceled the event.
The original Fyre Festival turned out to be the subject of documentaries aired on Netflix and Hulu in 2019.
In July 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to a ticket scheme and wire fraud charges linked to the festival.
Investors and customers lost around $26 million, according to New York prosecutors.
Prosecutors slammed McFarland for “not delivering” on what had been promised.
” McFarland found out the hard way that empty promises don’t lead to jet-setting, champagne, and extravagant parties – they lead to federal prison,” Geoffrey Berman, the Manhattan US attorney, warned at the time.
MCFARLAND CONVICTED
In October 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison. He was released in 2022.
He apologized for his role in the music festival.
“I need to apologize. And that is the first and the last thing that needs to be done,” he told Good Morning America in November of that year.
“”I let people down. I let down employees. I let down their families. I let down investors.
“So I need to apologize. I’m wrong and it’s bad.”
He claimed he was motivated by a desire to “prove people right.”
“I think I was just so insecure that I thought the only way to prove myself to them was to succeed,” he said.
In March 2024, he refused to say if any celebrities were backing the event in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun.
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