Fyre Festival investor Andy King warns of ‘red flags’ for relaunch
An investor in the doomed Fyre Festival has issued a warning to anyone interested in attending its planned reboot: “Proceed with caution.”
Andy King’s comments come after Billy McFarland announced Fyre II, shortly after being released from prison for embezzling millions of originals.
Mr King, who lost $1m in the first interview, told the BBC that McFarland “was known for being a big failure in pop culture and he wants to flip the script. But I’m not sure he’s doing it the right way.”
McFarland, 32, spent four years in prison for the 2017 event in the Bahamas, which did not provide the promised “luxuries” of $250,000 worth of tickets. Tickets for Fyre II next April will cost up to $1.1m (£840,000), he says.
McFarland told US media last week that “Fyre II should work”. He said he spent a year planning it, and has already sold 100 tickets at an ‘early bird’ price of $499.
Mr King, 63, said he met McFarland a few months ago to discuss Fyre II but feared his former business partner “didn’t learn much in prison… he’s shooting from the hip again”.
“Billy is gifted. He’s got a lot of love. He’s got people going,” the South Carolina-based event planner told BBC News.
“Think about it: when he was 24 years old, he joined an investment firm in New York and found himself investing $29m.”
He said Fyre II would be a “huge success” – but if McFarland “runs this game again, it won’t work”.
Mr King, who said none of his $1m money from the first festival was returned, was approached by McFarland to meet with investors in the new venture.
“I see a lot of red flags, a lot of red lights”, he said. “And I feel bad. It makes me sad.
“We were going to rent a huge place in the Hamptons and have a big, fancy party,” Mr. King said, referring to the legendary playground of America’s rich and famous.
“We ended up with 30 people at a pizza place near Montauk Highway.”
He said subsequent calls were canceled and he hadn’t heard from McFarland in seven or eight months.
The original Fyre was developed by supermodels and celebrities as an exclusive getaway for the super-rich, and the property was named after the private island once owned by drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Those who attended the event arrived to find all amenities canceled, empty mattresses to sleep on in storm-ravaged tents and cheese sandwiches in food containers to eat.
McFarland was sentenced in 2018 to six years in prison for wire fraud, and was ordered to repay $29m to investors.
He was released in 2022 under an early release program but remains on probation until next August.
According to McFarland, next year’s tickets will start at $1,400 but will go up to $1.1m.
The most expensive package will include scuba diving, island hopping and luxury yachts.
He said the event “will not be just music” and could also include side shows such as a karate pit.
He admitted, however, that he has yet to set any talent.
‘Everybody’s Watching’
Mr King said he would still like to talk to his old business partner about his new venture, although he still faces criticism for his involvement in the first festival – everywhere he goes, he says, people still treat him as a “scam”.
He came out as a sympathetic figure in the 2019 Netflix documentary Fyre: The Biggest Party That Never Happened for his efforts to turn the tide.
In arguably the most dangerous moment in the entire sagahe describes how McFarland urged him to give Bahamian ministry officials sexual favors in order to get enough bottled water for the event.
That “ridiculous honor”, however, came at a low price for Mr King.
He added that he had been in contact with McFarland during his arrest and briefly advised him on reputation management last year.
At least, he said, “the Fyre brand is so well known around the world that there will be many people who will be curious”.
“And they’re all watching.”
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