Fyre Festival, which was marketed as the Coachella of the Bahamas and a “cultural moment created from a blend of music, art and food,” quickly descended into “mass chaos” when instead of promised private planes, yachts, villas, wellness activities, free-flowing booze, and the chance of expanding their Instagram following by a few thousand, they arrived to find the “exclusive villas” were FEMA tents and the promised meals by a celebrity chef were sad cheese sandwiches.
Attendees called Fyre Fest at the time a “disaster” and likened it to a “refugee camp.” The festival’s organizers, led by founder Billy McFarland, “fully postponed” the event after most people had already arrived.
Now two years after infamous luxury music show was canceled, the island used in promoting it – Saddle Back Cay is listed at $11.8 million. The 35-acre island that’s up for sale isn’t the one that actually hosted the event. Pitched to potential owners as an “iconic private island,” Saddle Back Cay is located in Exuma, Bahamas, and boasts seven beaches, a main house and several smaller cottages, and “compelling views over one of the best seascapes in the world,” according to the realtor listing.
Commenting on its auction, listing agent John Christie in a statement said, “I actually had a buyer the next day after it (the Fyre Festival Promo) aired. They came down to check it out, but it ended up not being right for them.” He further added, “No such thing as bad publicity, right?” Given the Fyre Festival’s scandalous repute, it would be interesting to see who dares to call the Saddleback Cay as his own eventually.