Posted on 03.05.17
Fyre Festival organisers 'barred' from hosting another event in the Bahamas
Fyre Festival founders Ja Rule and Billy McFarland have reportedly been "barred" from holding another festival in the Bahamas next year.
According to Complex, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism will not allow Fyre Festival to return in 2018, and plans to enforce a "stricter vetting system" for future music festivals.
McFarland, a tech entrepreneur, had previously revealed that he plans on hosting another edition of Fyre Festival next year.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, he said: "We were a little naive in thinking for the first time we could do this ourselves. Next year, we will definitely start earlier. The reality is, we weren't experienced enough to keep up."
Fyre Festival's first ever event was launched last weekend, and was billed as a "cultural moment created from an alchemic blend of music, art and food", promoted by a wealth of "social influencers" including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin.
Tickets started at $1,500 and went up to $12,000 for VIP packages, with promises of yacht parties, luxury accommodation and gourmet food.
However the event quickly descended into chaos after guests arrived to find that the luxury getaway they had promised was lacking in basic essentials such as secure accommodation, and adequate supplies of food, drink and electricity.
Headliners Blink-182 pulled out at the last minute, saying they were "not confident that we would have what we need to give you the quality of performances we always give fans".
Speaking to TMZ after the event, Blink-182 guitarist and vocalist Matt Skiba said that he felt "horrible for the people who got stuck" and guilty to hear that attendees had to fend for themselves by "drinking warm vodka and eating bologna sandwiches in a mud pit".
An official from the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism previously apologised to festival-goers on behalf of the nation, stating that tourism is its "number one industry" and its aim is "to deliver world class experiences and events".
"Hundreds of visitors to [the island of] Exuma were met with total chaos," the statement continued. "Clearly [the organisers of Fyre Festival] did not have the capacity to execute an event of this scale."
In an attempt at damage control, Fyre Fest's lawyers have claimed that attendee complaints about "communications on the island [being] non-existent" and accommodation arriving in the shape of "disaster relief tents" were untrue and could "incite violence, rioting or civil unrest".
The attorneys stated that Fyre Festival would "hold you accountable and responsibly" if the attendees in question did not remove their tweets and someone was "hurt as a result".
Fyre Festival is currently offering guests of this year's festival either a refund for the tickets they purchased, or the opportunity to exchange their 2017 tickets for additional passes for next year's festival.
Meanwhile, lawyer Mark Geragos has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Ja Rule, Billy McFarland and the Fyre Media brand alleging breach of contract, fraud, breach of covenant of good faith, and negligent misrepresentation.
Roisin O'Connor . (2017). Fyre Festival organisers 'barred' from hosting another event in the Bahamas. Available: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/fyre-festival-bahamas-barred-organisers-ja-rule-billy-mcfarland-lawyers-tickets-latest-a7714816.html. Last accessed 03/05/2017