Fyre Festival

Fyre Festival was a luxury music festival organized by American businessman Billy McFarland and American rapper Ja Rule. It was originally created to promote the company's Fyre app for booking music talent. The festival was scheduled to take place on April 28–30 and May 5–7, 2017, on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma.

The event was promoted on Instagram by social media influencers, actors, reality TV stars and models including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Hailey Baldwin, and Emily Ratajkowski, many of whom did not initially disclose they had been paid to do so. During the Fyre Festival's inaugural weekend, the event experienced problems related to security, food, accommodation, medical services, and artist relations, resulting in the festival being indefinitely postponed and eventually cancelled. Instead of the gourmet meals and luxury villas for which festival attendees had paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars, they received packaged sandwiches and were lodged in poorly furnished tents.

In March 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud to defraud investors and ticket holders, and a second count to defraud a ticket vendor (while out on bail). In October 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to forfeit US$26 million. At least eight lawsuits were initiated against the organizers for defrauding ticket buyers, with several seeking class action status and one seeking more than $100 million in damages, and a judgment for US$2 million.

Two documentaries about the events of the festival were released in 2019: Hulu's Fyre Fraud, and Netflix's Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened.

In February 2025, it was reported that McFarland was selling tickets for "Fyre 2", to run from May 30 to June 2, 2025. On April 4, 2025, news organizations reported that two cities in Mexico have both denied the festival is taking place and have no knowledge of the event; this includes the most recently announced location, Playa del Carmen. The festival was postponed on April 16, 2025, to be rescheduled at a later date.

On June 2nd, 2025, Fyre Festival announced the launch of Fyre Coral View Pop-up and Fyre Hotels, happening at the Coral View Beach Resort on the Island Utila in the Bay Islands of Honduras on September 3rd through 10th. The consideration of Utila as a possible location and scouting it date back to social media posts from February 29, 2024.

A June 6, 2025 Pollstar feature framed the “Fyre Coral View Pop-Up” on Utila as Billy McFarland’s “last chance” to rehabilitate the brand, spotlighting veteran promoter Heath Miller’s role and the intimate format at Coral View Beach Resort. The article praised the shift toward a “boutique, experience-driven” model, with Miller’s industry credentials lending added credibility to the Honduran getaway.