You may know Fyre Festival as purely a joke, because that's essentially what it turned out to be: a faux-luxury disaster for lucky Instagram stars to endure in the Bahamas. Now, it turns out that not only do festival-goers who want refunds need to fill out an application to get them, but Fyre Fest organizers are scrambling to fix the PR disaster by offering VIP passes to anyone who doesn't ask for a refund.
New York Times reporter Joe Coscarelli tweeted that those who attended this year's Fyre Festival can "forgo a refund in exchange for VIP passes to next year's festival." Wrote Fyre Festival in a statement:
"As you likely know, we've been through the ringer on social media and this has been a challenging week for us as we were unable to realize our dream on the first try. We are now one of the world's most famous festivals, for all the wrong reasons. We want to reverse that sentiment by producing something amazing. We are fully committed to this event next year, and to producing it in the most professional way, with experienced professionals. We have received commitments from several musicians to perform at next year's event. We would be so thankful to have your support as well."
The options here? "Yes, let it ride. I'd love to support you all in creating something amazing!" or "No, I'm not down for the adventure." Yeah, adventure. That's one way to put it.
(H/T Stereogum)
