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Ja Rule’s Fyre Festival Cancelled after Chaotic Start, Stranding Travelers

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Wenn

Ja Rule’s inaugural Fyre Festival in the Bahamas has been postponed after ticket holders arrived on Thursday (27Apr17) and complained about scenes of chaos.

Fans, who were charged between $5,000 and $250,000 for tickets to see special performances from the likes of Major Lazer, Tyga, Pusha T, and Desiigner on the Exuma Cays, took to social media upon their arrival to vent about the lack of basic accommodation and bad catering at what was supposed to be a luxury event.

Others, who were en route to the Bahamas from Miami, Florida, were left stranded at the U.S. airport after festival officials cancelled flights to the islands, citing “overcapacity”, and promised to issue full refunds.

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They also acknowledged the difficulties with accommodation in a post on Instagram, but despite the early signs of trouble, which was referred to as an “unexpected start” by organizers, they vowed to press on with the festival.

However, by Friday morning (28Apr17), Fyre bosses had had a change of heart and announced it was pulling this weekend’s bash altogether.

Fyre Festival set out to provide a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience on the islands of Exuma,” read a statement issued by event chiefs. “Due to circumstances beyond our control, we must postpone this experience. We are working tirelessly to ensure each guest leaves the island safely and ask for everyone’s patience and cooperation as we continue to provide ongoing updates via email and our official social media channels as they become available, including refund information.”

The Fyre Festival, co-organised by the Holla Holla rapper and technology entrepreneur Billy McFarland, had also been scheduled to take place for a second weekend in May (17).

Officials at the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism have since issued a statement regarding the disastrous event, insisting they are “extremely disappointed” in the “total disorganization and chaos” visitors were met with upon their arrival on Thursday.

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They also made it clear they are not official sponsors of the Fyre Festival, but would be on hand to aid ticketholders to get home safely.

The news emerges a day after Blink-182 pulled out of the event at the last minute, citing concerns about the staging of their gig.

Ja Rule and McFarland have yet to personally comment on the huge failure.

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