Christopher BarrettThe first round of 100 tickets for the sequel to the famously botched FYRE Festival in 2017, which saw its promoter Billy McFarland receive a six-year prison sentence, have sold out.
Pitched as taking place in The Caribbean on 6 December, the initial $499 tickets for the event were said to include access to FYRE Festival II, “FYRE pop-ups, experiences, and The FYRE crew community”.
The tiered tickets sales process looks set to see another 400 tickets go on sale “soon” for $799 each, followed by six further phases that promise to see ticket prices rise in steps up to $7,999.
McFarland’s infamous first attempt at running a festival led to his imprisonment and two hit documentary films. The FYRE Festival was originally set to take place on a private beach in the Bahamas. Ticket buyers for the weekend event were promised access to luxury accommodation and gourmet food along with big name music talent including Blink-182, Pusha T and Major Lazer.
Ticket sales for the inaugural event, co-founded by McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, were driven by a lavish promotional video that involved models luxuriating on a remote exotic island. The reality of the event was well documented as being anything but luxurious.
McFarland said in a TikTok video, “This is a big day because, as of right now, Fyre Festival II tickets are officially on sale. It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here, and it really all started during the seven-month stint in solitary confinement.
“Ultimately, we decided that Fyre Festival II is coming back to the Caribbean. We are targeting Fyre Festival II for the end of next year and, in the meantime, we will be doing pop-ups and events across the world.”
The promoter was reportedly placed into solitary confinement in 2020 after he was involved in a podcast while still behind bars. He was released from prison in May last year and was under house arrest until September.