Organisers of a music festival in The Bahamas that was billed as a luxury getaway but collapsed in chaos promised refunds on Saturday - and said they would try again next year.
The Fyre Festival was abruptly aborted Friday after hundreds of party-goers - who had paid for tickets costing up to $12,000 (Dh44075) and VIP packages that rose to $250,000 - arrived only to be welcomed by relief-camp style tents and rudimentary sandwiches rather than the promised lavish experience.
The festival, led by New York rapper Ja Rule and tech entrepreneur Billy McFarland, one day later apologised and said all festival goers would be refunded.
“Also, all guests from this year will have free VIP passes to next year’s festival,” said a statement on its website.
The 2018 festival, it said, would take place on a beach destination in the United States. While thanking the government of The Bahamas, the organisers said they had tried to create a festival on a private island where there was insufficient infrastructure.
“The team was overwhelmed. The airport was jam-packed. The buses couldn’t handle the load,” the statement said.
“This is an unacceptable guest experience and the Fyre team takes full responsibility for the issues that occurred,” it said.
Such problems were fully apparent to guests who had made it to the island on the VIP packages that were supposed to feature exclusive villas as well as chartered planes from Miami.
Numerous festival-goers posted pictures of shambolic scenes as they arrived and quickly turned around - setting off mockery in corners of the internet over the high prices many had handed over.
The government of The Bahamas, a country of more than 700 islands and cays where tourism is the largest industry, also apologied and assisted in evacuations - but stressed it was not involved directly in the event.
The Fyre Festival was one of the biggest disasters amid a boom in music events across the world and particularly the United States, where festivals have become a rite of passage for millennials of sufficient means.
* Agence France-Presse
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Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
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10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
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Scoreline
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Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
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Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
