Fyre Fest is officially up for grabs.
Billy McFarland, the convicted fraudster behind the infamous fest which set a new low for event organising and spawned multiple must-watch documentaries, is looking for someone to buy it from him after having to postpone its planned comeback, Fyre Festival II, twice.
“For Fyre Festival 2 to succeed, it’s clear that I need to step back and allow a new team to move forward independently, bringing the vision to life on this incredible island,” McFarland shared in a statement. “We will pick the new group based on their ability to execute the vision of Fyre in a transparent, grand, and expeditious manner. The next chapter of Fyre will be bigger, better, and built to last without me at the helm.”
What’s actually for sale? According to McFarland, the buyer would get the Fyre trademarks, IP, digital assets, media reach, and whatever cultural capital the brand still has left in the tank. He’s reportedly been working on this comeback for the past two years. In 2023, he even managed to sell 100 presale tickets at $499 a pop – despite the fact that, at the time, nobody really knew what they were buying into.
McFarland, who pleaded guilty to fraud charges tied to the original Fyre Festival disaster, served just under four years in prison. But he’s still convinced the brand is a success.
“Since 2017, FYRE has dominated headlines, documentaries, and conversations as one of the world’s most talked-about music festivals. We knew that Fyre was big, but we didn’t realise just how massive the wave would become. That wave has brought us here: to a point where we know it’s time to call for assistance,” McFarland said. “This brand is bigger than any one person and bigger than what I’m able to lead on my own. It’s a movement. And it deserves a team with the scale, experience, and infrastructure to realise its potential.”
Earlier this year, general ticket sales for Fyre Festival II launched with prices ranging from $1,400 all the way up to $1.1 million (no, that’s not a typo). The event was initially planned for May 30th to June 2nd on Isla Mujeres in Mexico, but then quietly moved to Playa del Carmen after local officials said they had no idea it was even happening. That plan also crumbled.
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“I can’t risk a repeat of what happened in Playa Del Carmen, where support quickly turned into public distancing once media attention intensified,” McFarland said.
As of last week, Fyre Festival II has officially been postponed with no new date in sight. Ticket holders have been told they’ll get refunds and can “repurchase in the future if it works for your schedule.”
