Fyre Festival 2 is “An Event That Does Not Exist”: Isla Mujeres Tourism Board

Less than a week after tickets to Fyre Festival 2 went on sale, Isla Mujeres officials are raising alarms about the event’s legitimacy.

Less than a week ago, we covered the official ticket on-sale for Fyre Festival‘s return and suggested it might meet a fate similar to that of the original 2017 event. Well, at least the first one had permits. Local officials reportedly say that they have not spoken with the organizers of Fyre Festival 2, which is supposed to take place on Isla Mujeres in Mexico.

Per The Guardian, Isla Mujeres Tourism Directorate Edgar Gasca denied having been approached by the organizers of Fyre Festival 2. “We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it,” he said. “For us, this is an event that does not exist.”

The revelation follows an appearance on the NBC television show Today by Billy McFarland, the convicted wire fraudster who planned the disastrous debut gathering. In it, he promised “artists across electronic, hip-hop, pop, and rock” at the sophomore event, but then he sidestepped a question about whether any had been booked by saying “we are announcing the artists over the next few months; I’m not in charge of booking the talent.”

Eight years ago, Fyre Festival attendees famously arrived at a trash-covered event site on Exhuma in The Bahamas with basic necessities in short supply. McFarland spent four years in federal prison for defrauding his investors, and the entire debacle was immortalized in Netflix and Hulu documentaries.

McFarland initially announced that Fyre Festival 2 was going to take place in December 2023. It failed to materialize, and the recent announcement that it would move forward this May 30 – June 2 was made all the more laughable with the inclusion of a $1.1 million ticket package called “Prometheus.”

Isla Mujeres Municipal President Atenea Gómez Ricalde took a proud tone when sharing her thoughts on the Fyre Festival 2 organizers’ missteps. “People are trying to use the peace and tranquillity we have created here for their own benefit,” she said.