When we look back on the early summer of 2017, Fyre Festival – the Ja Rule-backed event that swore to change the face of festivals forever, and kind of did, but not in the way its organisers had hoped – will be what stands out. In case you somehow missed it, Fyre punters had paid for ticket packages worth up to $12,000 (~£9,300) for a festival experience that promised celebrity chef catering, an unrivalled line-up (I mean, Tyga was due to play, after all), and, most important of all, Instagram prestige, only to be met by act pull-outs, improper safety regulations and cheese sandwiches packaged in styrofoam boxes.Obviously, they've since been landed with a hefty lawsuit brought by celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, and the embarrassment has really just kept coming, as yesterday the event's pitch to investors – an enormous cringefest, to be true – leaked and had the veritable piss ripped out of it, courtesy of the internet, which has had a field day with the whole debacle in general.And today the bad news just keeps on coming – TMZ reports that the Bahamas' Ministry of Tourism has suggested that it won't be letting Fyre Festival return next year (sad!) as Ja Rule and the festival's other organisers have been "barred" from putting on events on the islands. It has also spurred on possible policy changes, and stricter vetting policies for events in the future.As a final slap in the face, the event has been met with another lawsuit, this time regarding its social media-based promo strategy, which involved "influencers" promoting the even without stating that they were doing so for payment: according to The Hollywood Reporter, the suit states that "social media 'influencers' made no attempt to disclose to consumers that they were being compensated for promoting the Fyre Festival."Though I'm very much hoping that this is the last we'll hear of it for a while, something tells me that the Fyre Festival horror show will be playing out for a few months to come yet. God help us all, but especially Ja Rule.Follow Lauren on Twitter.(Image via NME on Twitter)
Advertisement