Fyre Festival fights social media tide

Rich millennials seeking a bohemian experience got a little bit too much reality

Those attending a so-called luxury festival in the Bahamas found that the reality quite as upmarket as advertised. Jake Strang via AP

By now, almost every joke that could be made about the chaotic Fyre Festival in the Bahamas has been made. For those who missed the story, it ran like this: an expensive luxury music festival for millennials with too much money devolves into utter chaos, with not enough accommodation, food or water and an absence of top-tier musical talent.

Schadenfreude is an ugly emotion, which probably explains the glee social media has taken in revealing the reality of the failed festival. That also explains why the reported price of tickets keeps going up – it started at several thousands, rose to US$125,000 for certain packages, with some media now reporting twice that.

But what the Fyre Festival debacle really shows is how quickly social media can turn: from eager posts celebrating the model lifestyle advertised, to snarky posts showing the rubble, wreckage and reality of the island. Even those seeking a bohemian experience were pleased to return to running water and sleeping indoors.