5 Festivals That Ended in Disaster

The calamitous Fyre Festival raised the bar for festival failures, from the sweaty cheese and limp salads that were apparently passed off as meals to the quickly disseminated insider reports of the organizers being in so over their heads that they forgot simple things — like requiring workers to sign non-disclosure agreements. But Fyre is hardly the only festival to stumble because of a combination of the elements and human error. The five festivals below all had what can be kindly referred to as rough years as well — some bounced back, while others folded up like tents in a downpour.

[Editors’ Note l: A version of this story was originally published May 2017]