The purported comeback of Fyre Festival is in doubt as a local official on Isla Mujeres, an island in Mexico where the festival is supposedly happening, said no permits were issued for the event and reportedly stated that it “does not exist.”
Convicted fraudster Billy McFarland promoted what he’s calling “Fyre Festival 2” in an interview with “Today” last month, saying it would be held on Isla Mujeres in May — about eight years after the first notoriously disastrous Fyre Festival, where attendees promised a luxury musical experience with artists like Blink-182 and Pusha T were instead left stranded in the Bahamas.
McFarland, who was sentenced in 2018 for wire fraud charges related to the original event, was released in 2022. He has promised that Fyre Festival 2 will be a totally different experience, describing it as a three-day event filled with an “immersive world of adventure, luxury, and culture.”
However, Isla Mujeres officials have cast doubt on the claim.
The island’s general directorate of tourism announced on social media last week that “no person or company has requested permits” for Fyre Festival 2.
“We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it,” the directorate’s Edgar Gasca told The Guardian.
He added, “For us, this is an event that does not exist.”
Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Tickets for sale on the event’s website range from $1,400 for general access to $1,100,000, a price that includes “fight team access at the Fight Pit,” and the option of “a 4-stateroom yacht or a luxurious 4-bedroom villa.”
Gasca, however, told The Guardian that the hotels the website lists have not heard about the festival.
McFarland addressed the bubbling concerns over his next project in an Instagram post on Tuesday, saying “Fyre 2 is real,” and that despite Gasca’s statement, he and his partners do have accommodations for Fyre attendees in the form of villas, yachts and hotels.
“This also includes two hotels who were contacted by the media and in response, gave misleading statements saying they never heard of Fyre and they aren’t working with us,” McFarland said. “After hearing this, I asked my team to terminate those contracts and to focus on the hotels and other partners who are eager to work with and support Fyre.”
Go Ad-Free — And Protect The Free Press
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
“Fyre 2 is moving forward and we are moving forward with full integrity,” McFarland said.
Content shared from www.huffpost.com.