A luxury music festival where tickets cost up to $12,000 turned into a nightmare — here’s what happened
Facebook/Fyre Festival
This is how Fyre Festival was advertised beforehand.
Instead of dancing on the white-sand beaches of Great Exuma in the Bahamas, Fyre Festival-goers have found themselves stranded in airports without any food or water, unable to get home.
This three-day party, organized by Ja Rule and tech entrepreneur Billy McFarland’s Fyre Media company, was due to take place on a private beach in the Bahamas for two weekends (April 28-30 and May 5-7).
But guests, who had spent between $450 and $12,000 on tickets, are describing the festival as a “complete disaster,” with half-built tents, delayed flights, and no one around to help.
Take a look at what happened here:
The three-day party was due to take place on a private beach on the island of Great Exuma in the Bahamas.
It had been promoted on Instagram by a host of supermodels, including Hailey Baldwin, Emily Ratajkowski, and Bella Hadid.
Major artists were planning to headline at the party.
Guests spent as much as $12,000 on tickets, which included accommodations and flights to the island.
But when they arrived, it was a very different scene…
So Fyre Fest is a complete disaster. Mass chaos. No organization. No one knows where to go. There are no villas, just a disaster tent city. pic.twitter.com/1lSWtnk7cA
— William N. Finley IV (@WNFIV) April 27, 2017
Blink 182, who were supposed to be headlining at the festival, had dropped out.
— blink-182 (@blink182) April 27, 2017
The accommodations were not as luxurious as expected.
#FyreFestival update, photos from the ground! pic.twitter.com/Z7fn9cKaz3
— FyreFestivalFraud (@FyreFraud) April 27, 2017
Many of the tents hadn’t been put up.
Early report is that many of the tents aren’t assembled. Here’s their tropical private island owned by Escobar! #FyreFestival pic.twitter.com/TNzBDbNAUJ
— FyreFestivalFraud (@FyreFraud) April 27, 2017
In case you’re wondering, those “cabanas” are actually disaster relief tents.#fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/jaZpkIKVT2
— Matt Halfhill (@MattHalfhill) April 28, 2017
There were also problems with the luggage delivery.
This is how Fyre Fest handles luggage. Just drop it out of a shipping container. At night. With no lights. #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/X5CdZRyJWo
— William N. Finley IV (@WNFIV) April 28, 2017
And there was no one around to help.
Why doesn’t #FyreFestival do something?! Communicate with your customers! @Magnises help them out. pic.twitter.com/DUqMtxJc3v
— FyreFestivalFraud (@FyreFraud) April 27, 2017
The concierge hadn’t been built yet.
The infrastructure was nonexistent, and the festival staff either a skeleton crew or MIA. pic.twitter.com/8Gh6NevsFI
— Iron Spike (@Iron_Spike) April 28, 2017
The festival claimed to offer gourmet food.
Here’s the “culinary experience” we got for our artists pass at Fyre Festival. pic.twitter.com/Kk9q9uvkX0
— William N. Finley IV (@WNFIV) April 28, 2017
But guests complained that they were given bread, cheese, and salad with no dressing.
So they charged 10k and this is what people got in return??? #FyreFestival !?? Is this for real??? pic.twitter.com/XizkpbNubm
— purplemiami (@purplemiami) April 28, 2017
The organizers updated the website to say that they would be sending guests back to Miami.
But many ended up being stranded at the airport.
Just waiting with my Fyre Fest pals to get on the flight out. The plane hasn’t left Miami yet. It’s lit! #fyre #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/glIYmIG0dc
— William N. Finley IV (@WNFIV) April 28, 2017
One guest described how she was kept in a room without food or water, waiting for a flight to take off. She claimed a person fainted as the conditions were so bad.
We have been locked indoors with no air NO FOOD and NO water #fyrefestival #fyrefest fyrefraud pic.twitter.com/wg5pZmSvnx
— Lamaan (@LamaanGallal) April 28, 2017
The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has even weighed in.
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