Fyre Festival was considered one of the most lavish and prestigious music festivals of all time, heavily promoted by models and Instagram influencers. It was supposed to take place in April 2017 in the Bahamas. Moreover, organizers planned to hold it for five consecutive years. In reality, it turned out to be a major scam, consisting only of relief tents and no live music. Thanks to Netflix, the festival has returned to the spotlight with a documentary. film "Fyre Festival: The Greatest Party That Never Happened"« . Here are 10 facts about the Fyre Festival.
1. Fyre Festival was a "luxury music festival" created to promote the Fyre booking app. Organizers falsely claimed the festival was taking place on Pablo Escobar's private island. Marketers even altered a map of the original venue to make it appear more like an isolated island.
Billy McFarland created the Fyre app as a platform for booking artists. A college dropout, Billy had previously founded two other companies, Spling and Magnises, making him a well-known serial entrepreneur. The Fyre Festival was a marketing strategy to promote the Fyre app. Rapper Ja Rule teamed up with Billy to organize the festival. The original plan was to hold the festival on Norman's Cay, Pablo Escobar's former private island.
Billy eventually leased the island from the current owners for the festival. The owners only demanded that Billy not mention his connection to Escobar. Like an energetic young entrepreneur, Billy violated the agreement and included a mention of Escobar in a promotional video. The lease fell through, and the Fyre team began searching for new locations in a panic about two months before the festival.
Even after the original festival location slipped through their fingers, the Fyre team didn't feel it was important to inform people. Their search for a new venue led them to Great Exuma Island. They were given a plot of land for a residential complex that they could use for the festival. They took it because they had no other choice. Meanwhile, false rumors about attending a music festival on "Escobar Island" circulated on social media. The Fyre team altered a map of the actual venue to make it appear as a secluded private island. (source)
2. "Social media influencers" such as models Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, and others promoted the event on Instagram. The influencers were paid to promote the event, but very few disclosed this fact.
The viral marketing campaign for the Fyre Festival began on December 12, 2016. Famous models like Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, and numerous Instagram influencers began posting an image of an orange square with a stylized flame logo to their feeds. Tapping the logo led to a promotional video. The video featured numerous models, including Bella Hadid, running and partying on a tropical island. The video accurately conveyed the promise of "an immersive music festival... two transformative weekends... on the edge of the impossible.".
After the festival, it was revealed that influencers were receiving money to promote the event. It turns out Kendall Jenner received $250,000 for her posts. Federal law required them to disclose this. Emily Ratajkowski was the only one to use the hashtag "#ad." Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission stated that "#ad" only works if used at the beginning of paid posts. Furthermore, the hashtag itself is not a sufficient warning.
Most influencers have since deleted the posts from their feeds. Bella Hadid was the only one to publicly apologize. (1, 2)
3. The organizers used a $4 million loan to rent luxury offices and didn't set aside any funds for the event. When they were told the event would require at least $5 million, they didn't believe it and continued their plans based on false assumptions. Apparently, they used Google searches to learn how to do everything themselves.
Carola Jane, a fashion executive and investor, secured a $4 million loan for Fyre. Instead of saving up for the event, the Fyre team rented luxury office space. Furthermore, neither Billy nor anyone else on the Fyre team had any experience organizing a music festival of this scale. So they began searching for companies with experience in event planning.
They were stunned to learn the event would cost at least $5 million. Furthermore, with only a few days to prepare, the cost could reach $12 million. Being newcomers, the Fyre team figured they could do it all for less than $1 million. So, they abandoned the idea of outsourcing and decided to do it themselves. Apparently, they learned how to rent a stage by searching Google. (source)
4. The event was scheduled for two weekends in April and May 2017. Ticket prices reached $25,000, and 95% tickets were sold in the first 48 hours. Attendees were promised accommodations in "modern, eco-friendly geodesic domes" and meals from renowned chefs.
The festival offered attendees a variety of packages. Tickets started at $1,500 and included only basic services, such as flights from Miami to the "private" island, meals, and hospitality. The "Duet" package included travel, two event tickets, and two twin beds. Next came the "Nest" package, which included two tickets and a double bed. The "Lodge" package cost $8,999 and included eight tickets and four king-size beds.
The most expensive tickets were sold for $25,000 each. Only groups of 10 people could purchase such tickets, bringing the total cost for the group to $250,000. Amenities included a real ship with two spacious sun decks and a private crew. The package also included flights, meals, accommodations, fuel for the ship, and crew salaries. (1, 2, 3)
5. A month before the event, the Fyre team hired an organizer. Despite the organizer's warning that they wouldn't be able to fulfill everything they promised within a month, they still held the event. They failed to inform participants about changes to accommodations and other services.
In March 2017, Fyre organizers hired Yaron Lavi, an experienced event producer. After hearing McFarland and Ja Rule's vision, Lavi told them it couldn't be accomplished in a month. Lavi asked to move the event to November, but the Fyre team insisted they wanted to hold it in the spring, as the weather would ruin the atmosphere in November. Lavi agreed, but asked McFarland to set up tents instead of villas. He even asked the organizers to inform attendees about the event. The Fyre team assured him they had prepared an email. This email never reached attendees' inboxes. (source)