‘It was an absolute Fyre Festival.’ Before Miami contestants were enlisted to save the world, another group signed up in Montreal. But where were the cameras? There wasn’t much in the way of press at the 2015 Fyre Festival. A festival that promised to be the biggest party of the year had a few thousand attendees.
With many people from the arts and music community — including members of The Social, a group of social justice activists and creatives — believing that the event represented a growing threat to the city. It was even attended by a Canadian singer, Ciara, who appeared onstage dressed entirely in white.
“The show went off without a hitch,” a Fyre Festival rep told HuffPost Canada in August. “We’re confident that this was a positive experience for everyone and for that we’re grateful. And in particular we want to extend our sincerest thanks to Toronto for supporting us and all the fans and artists who came out to be a part of this incredible experience.”
The rep did not mention that a major portion of the event’s ticket sales did not come from Fyre Festival guests. Though Fyre Fest billed it as a “music festival,” its marketing materials specifically said “we are doing our best to limit our influence to the guests on the line.”
The festival also insisted that “anyone in the world can safely enter Fyre Festival.” At the same time, the festival website was also promoting a ticket to the VIP experience — an exclusive “festival level ticket” — that would grant access to meet-and-greet sessions with various artists, a private tour of Miami as well as the opportunity to “experience the Fyre World Tour party at [the] front of the stage.”
“You can be the most authentic, fun-loving person in the world and attend Fyre Festival and be 100 per cent safe and have a great time doing it,” said the Fyre Festival rep. “At the end of the day, if you love Fyre Festival and what we’re doing, we want you to come. You can come.”
But for some people, the
