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Organisers of Fyre Festival warned celebrities not to attend

THIS celeb-studded festival promised to be one of the most luxurious music events of the year. Instead, it is absolute chaos.

Mara Siegler and Emily Smith
5 min read
April 29, 2017 - 3:54PM
BAHAMAS: Passengers Stranded in Bahamas After Luxury Fyre Festival Falls Asunder April 28

THE pricey Fyre Festival, thrown by rapper Ja Rule and failed entrepreneur Billy McFarland in the Bahamas and promoted by models Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, Hailey Baldwin and Bella Hadid, went up in flames Thursday with a lack of accommodation, food, security, cancelled flights and performances, and organisation.

According to sources, organisers, including Rule and McFarland, warned A-listers not to come and took off when things went south.

“They called all the A-list names and the modelling agencies and told them not to come,” says the source. “They were just like, ‘Oh, come next weekend when all the kinks have been worked out.’ This was before the chaos even started.”

Those on yachts fared better, including Nigerian billionaire Kola Aluko, who was there on Galactica Star, his 65-meter (213-foot), US $50 million yacht.

One of Jay Z‘s managers was reportedly there as well as Alex von Furstenberg who rented Jerry Seinfeld‘s 42-meter (138-foot) yacht Moka and is cruising around with friends.

“The people in yachts were fine,” a source told Page Six .

“The only thing that they had to deal with was instead of nice boats taking them between their boat and the island, they used life rafts.”

Rapper Ja Rule has been slammed for his terribly organised festival. (Photo by Christopher Smith/Invision/AP, File)
Rapper Ja Rule has been slammed for his terribly organised festival. (Photo by Christopher Smith/Invision/AP, File)

While guests are still trapped at the event — which has been described online as “the Hunger Games but with less luxury” — and are desperately trying to get back home, “Everybody who was organising the festival took off,” says the source.

“They abandoned it. They put up a sh***y stage, took millions of dollars, and then left everybody stranded. It was like a scene out of that movie Exodus. There were people with bags, not knowing what to do. I feared for people’s safety, it got so bad.”

Another source claims McFarland was busy partying on a yacht Thursday night while other people suffered.

Rule’s rep did not return Page Six’s request for comment, but the Always on Time rapper was spotted performing in Chicago. He later posted a statement to Twitter:

Another source, though said McFarland was on hand to help “customers personally. He wasn’t partying or on a yacht.” There is footage of McFarland standing on what looks like some sort of box, trying to take people’s questions.

The event was billed as a high-end “cultural moment created from a blend of music, art, and food,” that was set to feature Migos, Desiigner, Tyga and a number of other bands, plus yoga, jet skiing, and the full luxury experience, including a treasure hunt.

Blink 182 pulled out on Thursday afternoon, stating, “We’re not confident that we would have what we need to give you the quality of performances we always give our fans.”

Mega model Shanina Shaik, who was part of the glossy promotion for Fyre Festival, ditched out after hearing about the disaster zone conditions. Shaik and Wags star Natalie Halcro were spotted at Ora nightclub in Miami where a guest was overheard asking how it felt to be in the VIP instead of the fest. “They announced unanimously: ‘relieved!’” says a spy.

Australian model Shanina Shaik pulled out. Picture: Nagi Sakai
Australian model Shanina Shaik pulled out. Picture: Nagi Sakai

Kendall Jenner, who is still suffering the fallout from the Pepsi commercial, is taking heat on Twitter for promoting Fyre in a now deleted post. But she seems to be doing fine.

While sources said weeks ago the model was scheduled to appear at Fyre, she was safe in L.A. hanging out with her ex, basketball player Chandler Parsons and some friends.

Kendall Jenner is now facing backlash for her Pepsi ad and her endorsement of Fyre.
Kendall Jenner is now facing backlash for her Pepsi ad and her endorsement of Fyre.

A number of attendees, who had paid for packages ranging from $A 2,670 to $333,000, were not even able to get their flights from Miami to the Exumas, and those who did discovered that the luxury accommodations, which they had been sent upscale-looking illustrations of and were described as “modern, eco-friendly, geodesic domes,” were just relief tents used by FEMA and the UN.

“They had a tent village that was a refugee camp and there was a long unorganised mess of people and Billy all of sudden just goes ‘run and grab a tent,’” says a source on the island. “Everyone was running and security lost control. Tents were being torn down.”

Guests weren’t the only ones lied to. Page Six previously reported that attendees were nervous about the festival and that people were backing out of working with them because they did not respond to calls. They also reported that the promised villas that went for thousands had not been built and did not exist and were sent what are now known as fake photos of a lovely cottage with a pool surrounded by flowers and a nice-looking interior.

Food and water were scarce and the promised five-star catering was “prison-style” — cheese sandwiches, if guests were able to even get fed.

On Twitter and Reddit, there were claims of fires, fights, locals robbing festival-goers, people going missing, and even gunshots being fired.

Attendees are still trying to get out and have been stuck at the airport. “There is no water at the airport and they have shackled the doors,” says one festival-goer. “Someone had a seizure.”

On Twitter, one user wrote, “Some 1 just fainted at #exumaAirport due to being chained inside with no air, food or help.”

And, Twitter is having an absolute field day over the festival.

The hashtag #fyrefestival is trending on the social media platform with thousands of people finding the funny in the catastrophic event — specifically users that didn’t actually attend.

The Bahamian Ministry of Tourism, which a source says is worried about bad press and had nothing to do with the disorganisation, has been brought in to help, telling the publication, “We are at the site. We are feeding those at the airport. We are assisting with transporting.”

They have released a statement saying, “We are extremely disappointed in the way the events unfolded yesterday … We offer a heartfelt apology to everyone … Hundreds of visitors to Exuma were met with total disorganisation and chaos … The event organisers assured us that all measures were taken to ensure a safe and successful event but clearly, they did not have the capacity.”

The festival was “postponed” Friday morning, saying on Twitter, “At this time, we are working tirelessly to get flights scheduled and get all travellers home safely.”

A statement on the Fyre Festival’s website reads, “Fyre Festival set out to provide a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience on the Islands of the Exumas. Due to circumstances out of our control, the physical infrastructure was not in place on time and we are unable to fulfil on that vision safely and enjoyably for our guests.”

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and has been republished here with permission.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/music-festivals/organisers-of-fyre-festival-warned-celebrities-not-to-attend/news-story/b58ba271c1d5036b0fa74a163aec5b16