Two weekends of music euphoria turned into an isolated nightmare for guests of the Fyre Festival. What was supposed to be an immersive luxurious experience in the Bahamas became quite the opposite almost immediately after the guests' arrival.
The festival was promoted by supermodels and celebrities and was hyped up to be an out of this world experience. Promises for the festival included: flawless white sand beaches, a private Boeing to encompass the perfect VIP experience, gourmet food and alcohol, and eco-friendly bungalows for sleeping accommodations.
In reality, they boarded crowded flights and had to collect their own luggage from a shipping container in the dead of night. Festival-goers were placed on unfinished gravel lots with sparse, unkempt beaches. Celebrities and performers canceled right and left before the festival even began. Guests also got to “enjoy” slices of bread with cheese and a very tiny salad portion in a Styrofoam to-go box instead of the 5-star catering they were promised. Yes, below is a real picture of a real meal from this "extravagant festival."
Instead of eco-friendly villas, they found disassembled and floorless tents. No communal showers were provided and the only bathroom options were a handful of scattered port-a-johns. Not to mention, the only transportation available on this "luxurious island" were a few sketchy school buses. Many guests tried to immediately re-board the plane to Miami and were met with endless delays and more disappointments.
More lies from the Fyre Fest include the claim for it to be held on a "private island" and that this island was previously owned by Pablo Escobar. A website called Exumas Online pointed out several inconsistencies in the festival's marketing such as its claim to be a private island when it was actually an undeveloped area on the island of Great Exuma. Not to mention, the notorious narco-terrorist never owned an island in the Bahamas.
Some of the "expected headliners" were Major Lazer, Blink-182, Matoma, Disclosure, Lil Yachty, Daya, Migos and Rae Sremmurd. Although Fyre advertised these huge artists, Major Lazer was booked during the time of Fyre Fest for Middlelands Festival in Texas. Is this another phony promise from this "too-good-to-be-true" festival? Probably. Blink-182 even tweeted an apology to fans as they canceled just days prior to the festival kickoff saying that they "weren’t confident they’d have what they needed to deliver a quality performance" at Fyre Fest.
The festival was designed and planned out by music icon Ja-Rule and American entrepreneur Billy McFarland both of which are facing many major lawsuits now. Every appealing aspect of this festival turned out to be complete and utter nonsense. And shortly after the first plane arrived, the event was
Tickets for this "lavish" festival ranged from $5,000 to $250,000. Can you imagine the frustration of these music enthusiasts as they realized their dream getaway to a private island was actually going to be hell on earth? Ja-Rule and McFarland may want to find a new event planner or maybe just new careers in general.