Is Fyre Festival 2 happening? 2 months out, lineup remains unseen, event changes location
In just 60 days, a "take two" of the infamous Fyre Festival is supposed to kick off in Mexico, but an artist lineup has yet to be shared, entertainment applications remain open and an entirely new location has just been announced.
The second attempt at the scandal-ridden 2017 festival is scheduled for May 30 to June 2 at Playa del Carmen, Mexico, a recent change from the festival's initially-promoted location of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. The location announcement was shared on Fyre Festival's social media on March 21, just 70 days before the festival's first day.
Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland told USA TODAY that festival entertainment would be announced in March. But now, fans can expect a list of 40 entertainers to be shared this upcoming week, Lostnights Head of Artists & Commercial Relations Manuel Reta said during a press conference in Playa del Carmen on Thursday. Lostnights, a festival production company, is helping produce Fyre Festival 2 this time.
McFarland attended Thursday's press conference virtually, as he remains under probation in the U.S. In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison for engaging in several fraudulent schemes related to Fyre Festival. After his arrest, he acknowledged that he had defrauded investors out of $26 million and more than $100,000 in fraudulent ticket-selling schemes.
Why did Fyre Festival 2 change locations?
Last month, eyebrows began to rise when Isla Mujeres government officials and the management of a five-star hotel listed on the Fyre Festival's website claimed they weren't working with Fyre Festival 2 or even knew about it.
In response, McFarland shared that the festival had terminated contracts with two hotels that "gave misleading statements, saying they never heard of Fyre." McFarland didn't specify which hotels these were, but as of Friday, Impression Isla by Secrets, which claimed it was not affiliated with Fyre Festival, had been removed from the festival's website.
"We have been working on building Fyre in Mexico since September (2024)," McFarland told USA TODAY in a statement. "We were blindsided by comments made to the media, and we ultimately found the perfect home for Fyre Festival 2 in Playa del Carmen."
Fyre Festival opens applications for 'excursion' hosts
Despite supposed locked-down entertainers, as of Friday, a new Fyre Festival 2 website page allows folks to apply to host "curated excursions and experiences" for festival guests. The page indicates that the festival is looking for individuals who can lead activities like whale shark diving, cliff jumping, luxury catamaran sails or survivalist challenges.
"This is an exclusive, application-only opportunity for individuals with an engaged audience and a track record of delivering premium experiences," the website reads. "If selected, your experience will be an official part of the Fyre Festival itinerary, with dedicated marketing and media support."
The Fyre Festival website does not specify the pay or benefits for excursion hosts.
Festival prohibits refunds on $1.1 million tickets
Only 2,000 tickets are available for Fyre Festival 2, ranging between $1,400 for one person to $1.1 million for a group of eight. Ticket package details vary, but none are refundable.
"We may cancel any event at any time at our sole discretion. No refunds will be given for event date, time, location or lineup changes or cancellations by artists," the festival's terms of service states.
What happened during the first Fyre Festival?
Intended to be held over two weeks in April and May 2017, the first Fyre Festival was promoted by social media influencers like Kendall Jenner , Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber , and ticketholders were promised acts like Blink-182 and Migos.
However, upon arrival, festival-goers learned that the artists had canceled. Due to poor Caribbean weather, the festival was essentially washed out, with the promised luxury accommodations and gourmet food nowhere to be found. In the end, attendees only stayed one night before they were evacuated.
The entertainment fail resulted in two documentaries, including Netflix's Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fyre Festival 2: Lineup remains unseen, event changes location
