Though the second tier of Fyre Festival 2 tickets went on sale last week, no one should be surprised to hear that the hyper-privileged stupid enough to buy one might once again be paying for nothing.
The second iteration of the disaster fest is set to take place on Isla Mujeres off the Caribbean coast of Mexico from May 30 to June 2, bumped from its original April 25–28 slot. Even with the delay, fewer than three months still may not be enough time to set up the disaster tents — a representative for the island says Fyre Festival has not asked for any permits for the event.
"We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it," Edgar Gasca, representative for the Isla Mujeres tourism directorate, told The Guardian. "For us, this is an event that does not exist."
Gasca went on to explain that he's spoken with the minister for tourism of Quintana Roo — the State Isla Mujeres is located — and that the hotels listed as accommodation on Fyre's site have never heard from organizers and were unaware of the alleged festival.
"I think they thought they would just announce it and see if it got traction, then ask for the permits halfway down the path. It's a bit of a naive way to think," he said.
Later, he added, "This festival is not going to happen. There are red flags all over the place."
Fyre Festival may be the only music festival where the organizers constantly need to reassure attendees that it's actually happening. In February, the Fyre Instagram account posted a statement beginning with "FYRE FESTIVAL 2 IS REAL," which is some very cool foreshadowing. Festival organizers did not respond to The Guardian's follow-up questions.
Fyre Festival Founder Billy McFarland was released from prison early after being convicted of three counts of wire fraud and one of money laundering concerning the first Fyre Festival, which took place back in 2017. At least $500,000 from tickets sold for its second attempt will go towards the $26 million he still owes.