Fyre Festival 2 flames out as Billy McFarland puts brand up for sale: 'I need to step back'

When promoter and convicted fraudster Billy McFarland sought to revive his infamous Fyre Festival this year, helium wanted to bash it “with honesty, transparency, relentless effort, and creativity.”

Now, Fyre Festival 2 is indefinitely postponed (shocker) and McFarland seeks to region himself from the event, putting the Fyre marque up for sale. “This marque is bigger than immoderate 1 idiosyncratic and bigger than what I’m capable to pb connected my own,” McFarland said Wednesday successful a connection shared to the Fyre Festival website and Instagram page.

“It’s a movement. And it deserves a squad with the scale, experience, and infrastructure to recognize its potential,” McFarland said. “We person decided the champion mode to execute our goals is to merchantability the FYRE Festival marque ... to an relation that tin afloat recognize its vision.‍”

McFarland announced his determination to measurement distant from Fyre 2 months aft declaring successful February that “Fyre Festival 2 is real” and was acceptable to travel to Isla Mujeres successful the Mexican Caribbean from May 30 to June 2. At the time, helium said helium saw the Mexico lawsuit arsenic a “second chance.”

The archetypal iteration of McFarland’s Fyre Festival successful 2017 advertised 2 weekends of a luxury euphony lawsuit connected a backstage land successful Exuma, the Bahamas. Attendees, immoderate who shelled retired much than $10,000 for tickets, were alternatively met with canceled shows, plain food sandwiches and flimsy tents that struggled to withstand stormy conditions astatine the botched event, founded by McFarland and rapper Ja Rule. The fiasco rapidly went viral and successful the pursuing years inspired documentaries from some Hulu and Netflix.

A twelvemonth aft the archetypal Fyre Festival, McFarland pleaded blameworthy successful 2018 to defrauding investors of $26 cardinal successful the failed lawsuit and implicit $100,000 successful a fraudulent ticket-selling scheme. Dubbed a “serial fraudster” by a New York judge, McFarland was sentenced to six years successful national prison. He was released aboriginal and placed nether location apprehension successful 2022.

Fyre Festival 2 (not to beryllium confused with the different Fyre Festival 2 that was announced and rapidly scrapped successful 2023) touted 4 summons tiers ranging from $1,400 to $1.1 million. The website for the fest besides featured vague promises of “an electrifying solemnisation of music, arts, cuisine, comedy, fashion, gaming, sports and treasure hunting.” Fyre Festival 2 boasted “unforgettable performances, immersive experiences,” but an creator lineup was ne'er revealed. Pages detailing summons income and accommodation person since been scrubbed from the website. The Instagram station announcing the instrumentality of the festival has besides been deleted.

The roadworthy to Fyre Festival 2 seemed turbulent adjacent earlier McFarland announced his hunt for a buyer. A week aft the promoter confidently unveiled his plans for Fyre Festival 2, the tourism committee of Isla Mujeres said it had “no cognition of this event.”

A spokesperson for the tourism committee told the Guardian successful aboriginal March, “For us, this is an lawsuit that does not exist.” Not agelong after, McFarland disputed those claims successful a since-deleted Instagram video, reassuring followers that the event’s squad did person accommodations successful spot for festival goers and “we person talent.” The Fyre Festival team, successful a connection to summons holders reviewed by The Times, said it was “blindsided” by Isla Mujeres officials’ claims and alternatively opted to big the lawsuit astatine Mexico’s Playa del Carmen.

In precocious March, McFarland shared videos from a beachside property league astir the lawsuit featuring himself and a sheet of Fyre Festival partners and organizers. On April 2, Playa del Carmen authorities officials issued a connection successful Spanish connected Instagram with a acquainted message.

“After a thorough review, determination is nary grounds oregon readying of immoderate specified lawsuit successful the municipality,” the connection said, according to NBC News.

In its announcement to summons holders past week, the Fyre squad claimed it had paid for the indispensable permits to determination guardant with the lawsuit astatine Playa del Carmen and accused the section authorities of theft. “Due to this, we person decided to determination FYRE Festival 2 elsewhere.”

The 3rd determination has yet to beryllium revealed — conscionable similar the caller dates and creator lineup.

McFarland referenced the readying challenges connected Wednesday and claimed Fyre has since received involvement from “several Caribbean destinations anxious to host.” However, helium said, “it’s wide that I request to measurement backmost and let a caller squad to determination guardant independently, bringing the imaginativeness to beingness connected this unthinkable island.”

In his notice, McFarland attempted to entreaty to imaginable buyers with arbitrary claims that supposedly stemmed from Fyre Festival’s reputation: “one of the astir almighty attraction engines successful the world” and “one of the world’s astir talked-about euphony festivals.” Earlier this week, Deadline reported that the festival volition get different beingness arsenic a streaming work aft documentarian Shawn Rech acquired immoderate Fyre IP.

This week, the event’s website transformed into a tract focused connected selling the marque alternatively of tickets. Metrics touting the brand’s expected online and societal media clout present basal successful spot of vibrant slides detailing the perks of each summons tier. The website besides features a signifier wherever imaginable buyers tin sanction their price.

“Giving power of the marque to a caller radical is the astir liable mode to travel done connected what we acceptable retired to do: physique a planetary amusement brand, big a harmless and legendary event, and proceed to wage restitution to those who are owed from the archetypal festival,” McFarland said.

He concluded his letter: “The adjacent section of FYRE volition beryllium bigger, better, and built to past without maine astatine the helm.”

Where Fyre Festival 2 goes from present remains to beryllium seen. A metallic lining to these latest developments, however, is that McFarland announced his intentions to measurement distant earlier faithful festival goers descended connected a yet-to-be-determined destination for a big of vaguely vibey activities and a imaginable tropical nightmare with a broadside of bittersweet food sandwiches.