Convicted fraudster Billy McFarland announced the return of the Fyre Festival, several years after the initial festival bombed in 2017, leading to his incarceration.
McFarland took to YouTube on Sunday to announce that Fyre Festival II tickets will be held in 2024, with tickets now on sale for up to $8,000. McFarland was slated to host the festival in 2017 and managed to get A-list models like Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski to promote the event, which was marketed as a VIP affair on a Bahamian island.
He faced backlash from ticketholders who were left stranded without food in what turned out to be a giant sham. McFarland pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2018 and was sentenced to six years in prison, of which he served nearly four, according to the New York Post.
Fans were promised performances from the likes of Blink-182, Pusha T, Kaytranada, Major Lazer and Lil Yachty, and paid thousands of dollars for tickets and flights to the festival. The disaster went viral as fans noted the stark difference between what they paid for and what they got. Photos of meals — like two pieces of toast with a slice of cold cheese — and accommodations — which turned out to be disaster relief tents — went viral on social media.
McFarland remains on supervised release, according to the Post, but has still decided to attempt a comeback.
“This is a big day. It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here, and it really all started during a seven month stint in solitary confinement,” McFarland said in his YouTube video. “I wrote out this 50-page plan of how it would take this overall interest and demand in Fyre and how it would take my ability to bring people from around the world together to make the impossible happen.”
The ex-con said he has been working with the “best partners in the world” to bring back Fyre. (RELATED: REPORT: Famous Con Artist Plans To Speak With MBA Students At Harvard)
“Guys, this is your chance to get in. This is everything I’ve been working towards. Let’s fucking go,” he said.
The location, festival lineup, and details pertaining to what will be included in this “VIP Fyre” experience have not been revealed.
Tickets are currently on sale for between $499 and $7,999 each, according to the Post.