Ahead of the (next) attempt at the infamous Fyre Festival, organizer Billy McFarland is planning a round of trips leading up to the event — along with an underwater concert.
Fyre Fest II has no official date or lineup, though the festival is slated to take place in the Caribbean at the end of 2024. The first edition of the festival promised performances from big-name acts, luxury villas, and chef cuisine, but attendees were met with no performers, hurricane tents, and a boxed dinner. Fyre Festival went down as one of the biggest scams in the entertainment industry, even landing McFarland is jail for fraud — but that’s not stopping him.
The first 100 tickets to Fyre Fest II sold-out earlier this year, priced at $499. The second batch of presale tickets went on sale for $2,500, followed by 50 VIP tickets for $5,000. Interested attendees had to apply to be able to purchase tickets, and according to McFarland, the festival received $3.3 million worth of ticket applications.
On Black Friday, organizers revealed that presale tickets will be available for 24 hours. These include the $2,500 GA presale and $5,000 VIP presale tickets, as well as the $50,000 artist pass, $250,000 “Prometheus” pass, and whopping $1,022,057 “Klymene” pass — which doesn’t offer much information besides a promise of “a comprehensive experience that immerses you in the elements of Fire, Earth, Sky, and Sea.”
In addition to the festival, McFarland is planning to announce various pop-up events and “lead-up” trips. The first lead-up trip, announced last month, will go-down President’s Day Weekend from February 16 to 19, 2024. He said a group of 30 people will meet up in either New York City or Miami and then fly together in a group of twin-engine propeller planes, arriving in the Caribbean Friday afternoon. The $3,500 trip promises activities like “free-diving for lobster” and “lighting up the island at night,” with housing in a cluster of beach-side villas and a house chef for major meals.
McFarland is also boasting “Fyre Survival Training” expeditions. The second “training” will take place in Miami on January 13, 2024. The $400 experience starts in the morning, and guests will be shuttled to a secret location. From there, attendees will “dive, snorkel, scuba, and reach the swim-under as artists literally perform underwater.” The survival training is set to conclude with “catered food, drinks, and performances from top artists.”
Further information, regarding how the concert will go-down underwater or which artists will be performing, has not been announced.
While these lead-up events seem quite random, the ticket to the “Fyre Survival Training” notes that 10% of ticket sales will go to those owed from Fyre Festival. As McFarland previously stated to MarketingBrew, he wants to rebuild trust among festivalgoers.
“I just hope to rebuild my track record and rebuild trust over the years and beyond the success of Fyre Festival…Rebuilding trust is a theme that is super important for me,” McFarland said. “Hopefully, by doing that, over the years to come, that will reopen opportunities.”
