[imagesource: PerthNow]

You remember the appalling Fyre Festival debacle, right?

It was an epic fail of a festival that had tons of rich, important people promoting an island party that was supposed to be the jol of all jols, but wasn’t on so many levels.

Ever since the real Fyre happened, any festival or event that turns out to be an absolute flop is tarnished with that association.

Take for example the ‘Fyre Festival of Pizza‘, or the more recent Bali Fest in Mandurah, Western Australia, that has been likened to the soggy sandwiches and mattresses from the Fyre Festival.

The festival hoped to “bring Bali to Australia” over the Easter long weekend but left many disappointed.

At $30 (R436) a pop, all festival punters seemed to have got was some Bintang beer, which they could have got anywhere, really.

Let’s take a look at some of the outrage shared on Twitter:

LOL……Perth's very own 'Fyre Festival' ……

— Channelling Gen. Wenck (@Andrew02974595) April 5, 2021

Classic: Bintang singlets, thongs, beer bellies, attitude and over-priced 'Bali cuisine'. How naive are we? What did we really expect in Mandurah: the cultural centre of the SW and home of Bali expats!

— Stevan Coll (@CollStevan) April 5, 2021

One festival-goer, Joshua Kaan, told PerthNow that he got nothing like the Bali experience:

“I actually feel sorry for all the people who paid for the tickets believing they were getting what was advertised,” Mr Kaan said.

“It was a real waste of money that could have been just donated directly to the people that needed it in Bali.”

Another, Gail Barrett, said, “there was a lack of cultural awareness at the event and it did not represent the Balinese community as promised”.

And she’s been to Bali on holiday.

“It was nothing like Bali, there were hardly any stalls open or food trucks promoting Bali cuisine, or any cultural dancers…it was absolute false advertising,” Ms Barrett said.

“I will be lodging a complaint and I want to see a report of where the money they’ve raised actually goes to the charities.”

All that, compared to the promotional video that the event organisers shared on Instagram? Here it is:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Bali Fest (@balifestaustralia)

It seems to be a classic misjudgment between Instagram versus reality, am I right?

The organisers had no choice but to take action, tails between their legs.

Bali Fest organisers have issued a public apology and vowed to pass on full refunds after complaints from punters who claimed they were “lied to” and “underwhelmed by the event”.

“We’re taking this opportunity after several days of the festival to publicly apologise to those who have expressed that they feel lied to and underwhelmed by the whole event,” a post on the event’s Facebook page said.

“We would also like to whole heartedly apologise to the Balinese community who were offended by our lack of cultural representation.

“We are proud of our effort to fundraise but take every bit of feedback seriously and will use it as a lesson to improve and learn on our mistakes this time around.”

The event will continue for the next two days, due to all the vendors, artists, and workers taking part, but will offer entry free of charge going forward.

[sources:dmarge&perthnow]