THERE was a big sign that Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland knew the second iteration of his failed event was never going to happen months before it was officially postponed.
The convicted felon, who remains on probation for his crimes, would have needed to submit a request to the court for permission to travel out of the country for Fyre Festival 2.
The U.S. Sun can exclusively confirm that any request for Billy to travel to the event, or even to attend the planned festival’s recent press conference in Playa del Carmen, was never submitted to the court.
Billy, 33, previously submitted a travel request for a paid speaking engagement in February 2023 for an event in April of that year.
That travel application was ultimately granted, although Billy’s attorney recently told The U.S. Sun that his client ended up not going to Germany for the gig after all.
In asking if he could be allowed to travel to Germany, Billy’s attorney had to lay out exactly how much travel would cost, how much he would expect to make from the job, and how much of that would go towards his $26 million restitution for the victims of his first failed Fyre Festival.
The fact that there were no such travel plans requested by Billy to attend Fyre Festival 2, which was slated to take place in Mexico in just weeks, appears to indicate that he never expected it to come to fruition.
As The U.S. Sun reported last week, the festival is no longer going to be held in Mexico, and has been postponed indefinitely.
Following weeks of speculation surrounding the future of the controversial festival, a statement briefly appeared on the event’s website on Wednesday announcing that the weekend would be rescheduled for a later date.
The message, however, was swiftly revised, leaving ticket holders uncertain about the fete’s fate.
“Fyre Festival 2 is postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date in the future,” the now-deleted statement on the website read.
“If you have purchased tickets already, you will receive an email once the new date is confirmed.”
Fyre Festival 2 is ‘fake news’ & NOT happening in Playa del Carmen, official insists after Billy McFarland announcement
Shortly after, the website displayed that tickets, priced at $1,400 each, were “unavailable.”
Moments later, the site was updated again, as if no changes had been made at all.
The festival founder has yet to comment on the confusion.
The festival was originally planned to take place from May 30 to June 2 in Isla Mujeres, however, the venue changed after officials denied the event existed.
The location was then changed to Playa del Carmen, however, city officials there exclusively told The U.S. Sun that they were unaware of any such event.
EXCUSES?
On April 4, Billy posted on social media that festival organizers had been working with Mexican officials to secure the necessary permits.
He had also promised that a festival lineup would be revealed in March, but no performers were ever announced.
This latest chaos comes years after the original Fyre Festival in 2017 ended in disaster.
FYRE Festival & Billy McFarland
The inaugural FYRE Festival remains one of the most infamous event disasters in history.
Attendees were left devastated after spending tens of thousands of dollars to attend the event, only to arrive on an island in the Bahamas lacking food, water, and accommodation- not to mention the musical acts all pulled out at the last minute.
The debacle was magnified by social media, with disgruntled influencers sharing their outrage after stepping onto Great Exuma expecting the party of a lifetime.
Instead of the promised luxury villas, festival-goers were greeted by re-purposed emergency FEMA tents.
Enticed by the allure of world-class cuisine, ticket holders found themselves served cold cheese sandwiches in foam containers.
Despite the spectacular failure, Billy exclusively told The U.S. Sun in an interview that he has his reasons for attempting the event a second time.
Billy said: “This is the most tangible way to repay the $26 million that I owe, and having real partners gives an opportunity in the next five to seven years, to actually pay back that $26 million.
“And unfortunately, no one’s offering me $26 million to work somewhere else.”
The convicted felon, who faced charges for misleading his investors, went on to say he is taking full advantage of his notoriety.
“We are literally the most talked about music festival in the world. We’ve had three times as many mentioned this Coachella, which is in second place and there’s a huge drop-off after that.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to steer that ship into the storm and embrace everything that’s happened.”
Marketed as a luxury, star-studded event in the Bahamas, with promotion from celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, the festival promised performances from high-profile entertainers and an opulent island experience.
Instead, attendees were met with boxed cheese sandwiches, canceled performances, and a lack of basic necessities like food, water, and accommodations, despite spending thousands of dollars to attend.
The fiasco led to Billy’s arrest and guilty plea to wire fraud and other charges.
Prosecutors stated that the failed festival cost investors over $26 million.
He was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018.
The debacle regained attention in 2019 when Netflix and Hulu released documentaries detailing the scandal.
Billy has since claimed that Fyre Festival 2 would be his opportunity to redeem himself after the first disaster.
As previously reported by The U.S. Sun, Billy still owes nearly $35 million in overdue taxes and restitution to his victims.
