Fyre Festival: What the luxury event promoted by Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski was supposed to look like
Event has descended into 'chaos' with reports of guests stranded with short supplies of food, water and electricity
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Your support makes all the difference.Dozens of would-be festival revellers have been stranded after the much-hyped Fyre Festival descended into chaos.
Headliners have pulled out at the very last minute and guests are struggling to leave the island, amid reports of a myriad of other issues including "mountains of rubbish", short supplies of food, drink and electricity, and 'cabanas' that are "actually disaster relief tents".
Fyre Festival was thought up by tech entrepreneur Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, as an "exotic" alternative to Coachella.
This is what the festival was supposed to look like, according to promotion for the event:
A fairly (we're being nice) pretentious advert was posted on YouTube in January, showing a paradise island, pristine white beaches and clear blue water, models frolicking in the water, yachts, private jets, live music, and more models frolicking.
"Welcome to Fyre Festival," the text on the advert reads. "Two transformative weekends... an immersive music festival on a remote and private island in the Exhumas.
"The best in food, art, music and adventure. Once owned by Pablo Escobar [the island]. On the boundaries of the impossible. Fyre is an experience and festival. A quest to push beyond those boundaries."
The event, billed as “a cultural moment created from an alchemic blend of music, art and food”, was promoted by models including Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski, and promised a luxurious getaway on a private island in the Bahamas.
Tickets started at $1,500 and went right up to $12,000, with promises of yacht trips, luxury accommodation and gourmet food.
The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has apologised to festival-goers on behalf of the nation.
"We are extremely disappointed in the way the events unfolded yesterday," a spokesperson said. "We offer a heartfelt apology to all who travelled to our country for this event. Tourism is our number one industry and it is ou aim to deliver world class experiences and events.
"Hundreds of visitors to Exuma were met with total disorganisation and chaos. The organisers of Fyre recently asked the Ministry of Tourism for support for their private event. The Ministry of Tourism is not an official sponsor of Fyre Festival."
You can read the full statement below:
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