Disgraced event organizer Billy McFarland is still trying to make a comeback with Fyre Fest II, but according to official documents he posted on his own social media pages, the hyped-up multimedia event that promises music, celebrities, partying, and fun in the beaches of Mexico, is still not likely to happen this year.
McFarland originally promised a music festival slated for May 30 to June 2, 2025. He initially tried to organize the event on Isla Mujeres, a small island off the coast of Cancún. However, as tickets for the festival went live for sale in February, the local government of Isla Mujeres spoke out against McFarland.
"We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it,” tourism directorate Edgar Gasca told The Guardian. “For us, this is an event that does not exist.” The municipality denied any involvement with the planning of Fyre Fest II. (Tickets for the event were originally prices at $1,400 to $1.1 million each, according to The Guardian.)
Now, McFarland has switched destinations to Playa Del Carmen, the popular beach city just south of Cancún. He claimed that one of the official indoor locations for Fyre Fest II would be the Martina Beach Club.
The once-convicted scammer began selling tickets for the Martina Beach Club event, capping at 1,800 attendees. "I am so grateful to be bringing together 1,800 people who not only have the courage to take a chance on me, but the courage to prove the impossible possible," he said on a vlog he posted to his Instagram on March 30. McFarland then announced that he would share news about the festival's official lineup "this week."
"We'll have DJs, rappers, reggae artists, pop stars, but also athletes, divers, models, pilots, and creators," he clarified.
The event's organizer posted several clips of a press conference at the Martina Beach Club, where he and representatives of the club spoke together about the upcoming festival on March 28.
The local government of Playa Del Carmen released an official statement on April 2 denying any knowledge of the music festival. "In light of rumors about a supposed event called 'Fyre Fest II,'" they wrote, "we'd like to inform you that no event with that name is taking place in Playa Del Carmen."
"After careful review, there is no registration or planning [under that name] in the municipality," they continued.
McFarland fired back last Friday, April 4, with a slew of documents "proving" that Fyre Fest II was indeed happening at the Martina Beach Club, and that his team was working to get the right permits and certificates to host an event there. "All media reports suggesting our team has not been working with the government of PDC are simply inaccurate and based on misinformation," he wrote. "FYRE has operated as a good partner with PDC government and has followed the proper processes and procedures to lawfully host an event."
Details of the contract revealed that McFarland had lied once again about the content of Fyre Fest, however. One of the contracts notably states that the Martina Beach Club can only support a max capacity of 250 guests, and that no live music would be permitted. Instead, McFarland could only play recorded music ("música grabada"). Basically, he could only host a moderately-sized listening party. Another piece of the contract clearly notes that he can only host the event from midnight to 4 am each day, making Fyre Fest a total of 12 hours in length.
(Another funny detail in McFarland's Instagram carousel is that his screen recording of Playa Del Carmen's government's official Instagram account includes the statement denying their collaboration for Fyre Fest II. He lingers on that statement before frantically scrolling to now-deleted posts about their press conference.)
The festival's team is now calling into question the discrepancies between the municipality's official statement and their documents, as well as the mere existence of the March press conference. "The president [Estefanía Mercado] and her team were not only up-to-date on the event, but they also had active participation in its development," a representative told La Crónica. The municipality has yet to respond to McFarland's teams claims.
Furthermore, tickets for Fyre Fest II are no longer on sale, according to Consequence. The lineup was never announced, either.
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