Fyre Festival 2 “does not exist” according to an official statement from the tourist board in Mexico, despite the event claiming it is “real” on social media.
This comes after the festival and its founder, Billy McFarland, announced last month that its “real return” would take place from May 30 to June 2 at Isla Mujeres, a tropical island off Cancún, Mexico. Tickets went on sale this week, and prices range from $1,400 to $25,000. Premium packages are being priced as high as $1.1 million.
However, the tourist board and local officials have since claimed that no festival exists. Speaking to The Guardian, Edgar Gasca, from the tourism directorate of Isla Mujeres, said, “We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it. For us, this is an event that does not exist.”
Gasca was in Bogotá, Colombia for a tourism fair when he heard the news. He confirmed he had spoken to the minister for tourism in the state of Quintana Roo and the hotels listed as part of Fyre Festival 2, and none had been approached by the event.
The Guardian reached out to Impression Isla Mujeres, one of the luxury hotels at which Fyre promised accommodation, which claimed it had not received “any approach or enquiry with regards to the event” and that it was investigating it.
“The organisers didn’t even bother to approach the authorities,” said Gasca. “It’s very strange, because any manager knows that if you’re going to hold an event, let alone a massive event, you need municipal authorisation.
“I think they thought they would just announce it and see if it got traction, then ask for the permits halfway down the path,” Gasca added. “It’s a bit of a naive way to think.”
Last week, the festival took to social media to announce its return and described itself as “real” in a lengthy post.
It billed itself as a “three-day escape to the Mexican Caribbean where you’ll explore by day alongside your favourite talent and come together at night to celebrate with music”. Fyre Festival 2 also claims that it will feature “adventures led by international and local talent, taking guests on boundary-pushing excursions by day and uniting for intimate beach-side performances at night”.
As for the musical acts set to play at the alleged Fyre Festival 2, no talent has been announced yet. The original Fyre Festival in 2017 was reportedly set to include performances from Blink-182, Major Lazer, Disclosure, Migos, Pusha T, Tyga and more.
First developed by McFarland eight years ago, the botched festival Fyre Fest was originally set to run over two weekends on a private beach in the Bahamas but was revealed to be fraudulent once punters arrived on the scene, with inadequate conditions and a lack of food and water. The debacle was then captured in the now-iconic Netflix documentary FYRE.
McFarland was released from prison in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud.
