The independent student news site of San Diego Mesa College.

The Mesa Press

The Mesa Press

The independent student news site of San Diego Mesa College.

Breaking News
  • February 27Mysterious burning smell permeates campus; cause under investigation
  • December 17Acting Chancellor Smith named new permanent SDCCD chancellor
  • December 17Women's Volleyball claims state title

The Mesa Press

The Mesa Press

Fyre Festival: the event that went up in figurative flames

Fyre+Festival+FEMA+tents%0APhoto+credit%3A+www.twitter.com%2Fclotureclub+
Fyre Festival FEMA tents Photo credit: www.twitter.com/clotureclub

In a timespan of only six months Billy McFarland attempted to create Fyre Festival, a luxury music festival on an island previously owned by Pablo Escobar, that turned out to be the disaster of 2017. What was supposed to be a dream vacation in the Bahamas turned into hundreds of people stuck on an island with no plan set to get them home. As problems continued to arise, the employees of Fyre kept trying to find solutions.  

Two new documentaries have debuted on competing streaming sites Netflix and Hulu in January that reminded everyone about the fraud and exactly what transpired. McFarland wanted Fyre Festival to be an epic experience people talked about for years. Instead, it turned out to be a viral nightmare that people will be talking about for years.

The documentaries both showed what really happened with the Fyre Festival but from different perspectives. Hulu’s “Fyre Fraud” had footage of an interview with McFarland and focused more on an in-depth background of the scams he created. Netflix’s “Fyre” showed more of McFarland’s employees and the planning aspects. Hulu surprised their users with their documentary four days before Netflix’s was planned to air. The main topic that was agreed upon in both documentaries was that McFarland is a compulsive liar and a scammer.

In the “Fyre Fraud” version, McFarland talked about how he founded the festival. Halfway through, the energy shifted when McFarland said he couldn’t comment on the interviewers’ questions. The documentary ended with fact-checking all the lies McFarland told throughout the interview.

Story continues below advertisement

In “Fyre,” Samuel Krost said $38 million was spent trying to create this event. To ensure the festival plans continued, McFarland started to create wire frauds so investors wouldn’t pull out. Even a few days leading up to the festival when it wasn’t close to being finished, McFarland was in too deep and owed people too much money to pull the plug.  McFarland defrauded the investors $27.4 million, when the company actually wasn’t making any money. A couple weeks before he had ticket holders put money on cashless wristbands to use while at Fyre Festival. That plan raised $2 million.

When the attendees arrived for the festival, they were rerouted to a restaurant on the other side of the island to buy more time for the employees setting up. In the “Fyre Fraud” documentary we learn that instead of the immersive music festival that ticket holders were promised, they were greeted with what looked like wet FEMA  tents and chaos. Hundreds of indistinguishable black luggage bags were thrown out of giant shipping containers in the dark.

On Oct. 11, 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering, wire fraud, identity theft, witness intimidation and obstruction of justice according to “Fyre.” He also agreed to a lifetime ban on serving as a corporate officer or director.

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Mesa Press
$270
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of San Diego Mesa College. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributor
Hana Woodward, Social Media Editor
Hana is on her first year as a staff writer for the Mesa Press. She's a Journalism major from Arizona. She has lived in California for six years with no plans of leaving.  After getting her Associate degree she hopes to transfer to SDSU.
Donate to The Mesa Press
$270
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

Here at The Mesa Press, we want to foster a community for civil discussions. We welcome your insight and perspective. Comments posted must be appropriate for all ages. Any profanity or cursing is prohibited. That includes any attempts to curse with special characters (!@#) or spacing. Discuss and criticize ideas. We don’t allow comments that intend to intimidate, demean or harass other readers in any way.
All The Mesa Press Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *