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On April 4, 2025, Fyre Festival organizer Billy McFarland took to his Instagram page to post pictures of permits to show alleged proof that the second edition of the controversial festival would take place this year in Mexico.
For the unversed, Billy McFarland organized the fraudulent Fyre Festival in 2017, which was detailed in the 2019 Netflix documentary FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened. Following his release from prison in 2022 after serving time for fraud, McFarland has now claimed the second edition of the infamous festival would be scheduled between May 30 and June 2, 2025.
As per NME on April 9, McFarland's latest Instagram post included a permit dated March 18 showing that Fyre Festival 2 would be held at the Martina Beach Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The permit seemingly allowed McFarland to host a "listening party" for 12 hours in total between May 31 and June 1. The allocated time slot for the listening party was between midnight and 4 AM each day.
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The permit also showed that the venue capacity allowed a maximum of 250 people, contradicting Billy McFarland's previous claims at a press conference that Fyre Festival 2 would host 40 artists and 1800 guests. Another permit, dated March 26, reportedly allowed the organizer to host a party with only "música grabada,” or recorded music, and not live performances.
In the Instagram post's caption, Billy McFarland addressed the reports of Playa del Carmen denying its involvement with Fyre Festival 2, writing:
"FYRE has been working directly with the government of Playa del Carmen (PDC) and their officials since March 5, 2025 to ensure a safe and successful event. All media reports suggesting our team has not been working with the government of PDC are simply inaccurate and based on misinformation."
He continued:
"FYRE has operated as a good partner with PDC government and has followed the proper processes and procedures to lawfully host an event. We will be sharing all relevant permits, payments, and communications."
Mexican tourist board and Playa del Carmen deny Billy McFarland's claims of hosting Fyre Festival 2 at their location
According to The Guardian on February 27, 2025, tickets for Fyre Festival 2 went on sale that same week, and Billy McFarland claimed the venue for the same was the tropical island of Isla Mujeres. However, Edgar Gasca, a member of the tourism directorate of Isla Mujeres, denied this claim in a statement to the publication, saying:
“We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it. For us, this is an event that does not exist.”
Gasca added:
“The organisers didn’t even bother to approach the authorities. It’s very strange, because any manager knows that if you’re going to hold an event, let alone a massive event, you need municipal authorisation. 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.”
Following this, Billy McFarland switched the venue for the festival to Playa del Carmen, a coastal city in Mexico. However, according to NME on April 4, city officials denied their involvement in the festival via an X post on April 3, writing (translated):
“In light of rumours about an event called ‘Fyre 2’, we inform you that no event with that name will be held in Playa del Carmen. After a responsible review, there is no registration or planning in the municipality.”
Tickets for Fyre Festival 2 were priced between $1,400 and $25,000, with premium packages going for as much as $1.1 million. As of this article, the lineup of artists expected to perform at the reported festival has not yet been announced.
During the original 2017 Fyre Festival, Billy McFarland claimed that artists like Pusha T, Tyga, Blink-182, and Migos would perform at the event. However, when the festivalgoers arrived at the venue, which was a private island in the Bahamas, they were met with inadequate food and water and subpar lodging instead of the luxurious trip they were promised.
Billy McFarland pled guilty to several counts of fraud and began his sentence in 2018. He got out of prison in 2022 after being given an early release to a halfway house.
As of this article, it remains unclear whether Fyre Festival 2 will take place as scheduled.
