Following the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival, embattled founder Billy McFarland is attempting to give the event a second go-around with Fyre Festival 2 this year.
The festival has acquired an exclusive ticketing partnership with platforms SoldOut.com and FriendlySky, which will handle all operational responsibilities, including hotels and travel.
“Fyre 2 will have adventures led by international and local talent, taking guests on boundary-pushing excursions by day and uniting for intimate beachside performances at night,” he wrote.
It remains unclear who is slated to preform at the festival.
“I think that most people, once they kind of get under the hood and study the plans and see the team behind Fyre 2, they see the upside,” he said.
Fyre Festival 2017
McFarland gained notoriety in April 2017 after founding the heavily promoted Bahamas music festival whose failure saw widespread disorganization, chaos, class-action lawsuits, and eventually prison time for McFarland.Attendees who spent thousands of dollars on tickets were left disappointed upon arrival when promised “luxury” accommodations, gourmet food, celebrity appearances, and musical performances became instead tent lodging, cheese sandwiches, lack of security, and performers backing out.
In 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to wire and bank fraud, making false statements to federal law enforcement, and other fraud schemes from a separate event.
With Fyre 2, a minimum of $500,000 from the festival will go toward restitution. McFarland and his partners will also put 10 percent of the event’s total profits toward repayment.