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If there’s someone out there lamenting the thousands of dollars they didn’t lose and dreaming of the pitiful cheese sandwiches that could have been, then they’ll be happy to know that Fyre Festival is back and “better” than ever.

It’s been five years since the infamous Fyre Fest left attendees stranded, investors empty-handed, and the founder, Billy McFarland, behind bars. The convicted fraudster refuses to be barred in entirety, as he announced just this week that his festival will return next year.

Billy served nearly four years in prison and forfeited $26 million after the first Fyre Festival debacle, but went on to tell TODAY that he’s partnered with a production company that will handle “everything from soup to nuts” for Fyre II.

In a move that only he can pull off, McFarland revealed in a video on X that the sequel to the ill-fated 2017 festival will take place April 25 through April 28 on a private island off of the Caribbean Coast in Mexico.

🔥Fyre 2: April 25 – 28, 2025
📍: private island off of the Caribbean coast in Mexico pic.twitter.com/sdAPZOoWFF

— Billy McFarland (@pyrtbilly) September 9, 2024

VICE notes that though McFarland kept the name of the island hosting the festival under wraps, he confidently reassured sceptics that the site is equipped with bathrooms and designated areas for sleeping and dining—definitely an improvement over the initial hiccups where people were given half-arsed tents and sparse bathroom facilities.

Billy said he’s not yet booked any talent for the festival that’s less than a year away, but says “It’s not going to be just music—for example, karate combat,” he said.

“We’re in talks with them to set up a pit to have, like, live fights at Fyre Festival II.”

Despite past failures, the New York-based fraudster is confident he’ll be able to get acts to sign on.

“We have the chance to embrace this storm and really steer our ship into all the chaos that has happened,” he said. “And if it’s done well, I think Fyre has a chance to be this annual festival that really takes over the festival industry.”

The delusion is remarkable. The guy wrote his plan in solitary confinement, everyone.

He even said the dreaded cheese sandwich is staying!

“We will have cheese sandwiches,” McFarland said. “They’re going to be super expensive, too. We’re going to make them, like, really good. That’ll be, like, the highest priced food item, I think.”

No cheese sandwich, no matter how meme-like or good, should be above a certain price point – please.

The dinner that @fyrefestival promised us was catered by Steven Starr is literally bread, cheese, and salad with dressing. #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/I8d0UlSNbd

— Tr3vor (@tr3vorx) April 28, 2017

While attendees may find themselves stranded on an island without essentials like food and shelter, and despite the uncertainty surrounding the event’s exact location and lineup, McFarland boldly announced that Fyre Festival II has already sold 100 tickets at $500 a pop – that’s almost R9,000.

The price point only goes up from there. It’ll cost you $1,400 for FYRE Starter ticket, $5,000 for FYRE VIP, $25,000 for FYRE Artist Pass, and $1.1 million for PROMETHEUS.

The latter package, McFarland said, will include a boat, a scuba diving experience with him, and small plane travel to nearby islands.

Currently, you have to apply for any kind of tickets. Please don’t.

Billy is currently working to pay off that $26 million in restitution, so this cash injection seems to be something he is heaving for. He did say, however, that he and his team will try “to find small ways to give back to everybody that was hurt” in 2017. Shjoe, talk is cheap.

Meanwhile, an investor in the disastrous Fyre Festival has issued a warning to anyone interested in going to its planned reboot:

“Proceed with caution.”

Andy King’s comment comes from a personal place of pain, having lost $1m in the original debacle. He told the BBC that McFarland was “known for the biggest failure in pop culture and wants to flip the script. But I’m not sure he’s going about it the right way.”

Mr King, 63, said he had met McFarland several months ago to discuss Fyre II but he feared his former business partner hadn’t “learned a lot in prison… he’s shooting from the hip again”.

“Billy has a gift. He’s got a lot of charisma. He knows how to pull people in,” the South Carolina-based event planner told BBC News.

King said said Fyre II could be a “huge success” – but if McFarland was “running the show again, it won’t work”.

Well, Billy ain’t stopping for nothing or no one, that’s for sure.

[sources:vice&bbc]