April 28, 2017: Inaugural Fyre Festival a Chaotic Disaster, Met Gala Will Offer 360-Degree Live Stream on Facebook, Why Journalists Are Happy About the Lack of White House Correspondents' Association Dinner Hype

1. INAUGURAL FYRE FESTIVAL A CHAOTIC DISASTER: The inaugural Fyre Festival, a music festival backed by Ja Rule that was slated to take place on Exumas island in the Bahamas this weekend, has been a disaster for hopeful festivalgoers. Along with headliners like Blink-182 canceling their appearances, many attendees who were flown from Miami to the festival have reported a half-finished site with the opposite of the luxury offerings organizers promised. Billboard: "Concerns that the organizers were in over their heads have been trickling out for weeks—one agent who has an act playing a top slot at the festival tells Billboard that organizers had to renegotiate the guarantees they were offering some artists after the cost of hosting the ambitious festival began to spiral out of control. Attendees have taken to Reddit and Twitter to complain that the festival site was not ready upon their arrival Thursday (April 27) and that many had not yet seen their rooms. ... Despite the promise of a tropical paradise with private beaches, high-end sleeping accommodation and celebrity chef prepared meal, several fans on the ground tell Billboard they arrived in Exumas to find a half-finished festival site and woefully indicate conditions. 'There's no communication on the island,' William Finley tells Billboard. The North Carolina resident paid $2,700 for an artist pass that was supposed to grant him access to the artist village along with catered food an open bar and overnight villas that Finley said were little more than badly erected tents. 'They're basically disaster relief tents,' he said. 'With a mattress on some sort of bed frame. They're not that uncomfortable but the tents are so poorly made that they'd blow over in a second if there was any wind or rain.' As midnight approached on Thursday, Finley tells Billboard that many Fyre attendees are now boarding buses and heading back to the Exumas airport. 'We aren't even sure if it's open,' he said." http://bit.ly/2qe9lql

2. MET GALA WILL OFFER 360-DEGREE LIVE STREAM ON FACEBOOK: Vogue will live stream Monday's Met Gala in 360 degrees on Facebook, which is a first for the fashion event. Adweek: "The Met Gala is working with Facebook Creative Shop to set up the livestream, which will be the Met Gala’s first 360-degree broadcast. It’s also one of the Creative Shop’s first branded 360 live videos. During the broadcast, Moët-branded bubbles will appear periodically as interstitial ads between footage. Facebook is working with visual effects company Digital Domain to set up the video’s multi-camera perspective. 'The Met Gala is one of the biggest nights in fashion and the interest it garners is phenomenal—audiences are determined to be part of the action,' said Anna-Lisa Yabsley, digital director of Vogue. 'Our partnership with Facebook and Moët offers our audience direct, front row access to experience all the action of the red carpet. This will be the only official way to watch the red carpet live, and we’re thrilled to share this experience with the world.' From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, viewers can watch Met Gala attendees arrive on the red carpet on Vogue’s Facebook page. Vogue’s account will also post comments that share facts about attendees as they arrive on the red carpet. The theme for this year’s exhibit is 'Art of the In Between' and features Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo. Megan Summers, global head of production at Facebook Creative Shop said the theme is reflected in the use of 360-degree video." 

3. WHY JOURNALISTS ARE HAPPY ABOUT THE LACK OF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION DINNER HYPE: The annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday is going to one of the most unusual in recent memory, as this year the audience won't include the president and the high-profile celebrities the event usually draws. But many journalists aren't complaining about the lack of hype. Washington Post: "President Trump’s decision not to attend—announced in an abrupt tweet two months ago and viewed as another salvo in his battle with Washington journalists—threw uncertainty into the event. Over several decades, the tradition of a comic speech by the commander in chief, gently mocking the press and himself, had boosted the black-tie dinner into an A-list attraction. Yet Trump’s absence also seems to have magically relieved some of the tensions that had been building around the dinner for years—the ethical discomfort, for some attendees, in the spectacle of journalists yukking it up with the government officials they cover. Not to mention the unseemliness of journalists sharing red carpets with the stars of 'Scandal' or 'Duck Dynasty'  or feasting on corporate-funded cocktail buffets at an ever-growing array of unaffiliated parties that piggybacked on the WHCA buzz in recent years—two trends that have been dramatically halted with the first dinner of the Trump era. 'There’s always this angst and acrimony,' said Julie Mason, a host of a political radio show for Sirius/XM and a former WHCA board member, 'over what is basically a Rotary Club dinner.' (Granted, one that is aired live on C-SPAN.) Said Juleanna Glover, a corporate consultant and Bush White House veteran who has skipped the festivities in recent years, 'If it turned into a boring journalism dinner, I would be delighted to be there.'" http://wapo.st/2oS6CC0


* INDUSTRY NEWS *

The Convention Industry Council has rebranded as the Events Industry Council. 

* LOCAL NEWS *

CHICAGO:  BCD Meetings and Events has launched BCD Sports, an independent unit that will focus on creating athletic experiences for corporate hospitality and coordinating team travel for professional and youth teams, along with collegiate clients. 

LOS ANGELES:  The Associates for Breast and Prostate Cancer Studies will host its annual Mother’s Day Luncheon & Boutique on May 10 at the Four Seasons Hotel at Beverly Hills.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The second annual Reel Minds Mental Health Film Festival will take place May 13 at University of Miami's Donna E. Shalala Student Center.

NEW YORK:  This year's Governors Ball Music Festival, taking place June 2-4 at Randall's Island, has announced its food vendor and beverage lineup. Vendors include Roberta's, Magnolia Bakery, Big Mozz Sticks, Momofuku Milk Bar, and Luke's Lobster.

The Museum of Modern Art's annual Party in the Garden benefit will take place June 5. 

The 29th annual Lambda Literary Awards will take place June 12 at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

SAN FRANCISCO:  The 29th annual MarinScapes Fine Art Exhibit & Benefit will take place June 23-25 at Escalle Winery in Larkspur.

TORONTO:  The inaugural Hit the Floor Toronto, a multi-style dance competition, takes place today through Sunday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Laurence Fishburne and Joe Mantegna will host the 28th annual National Memorial Day Concert, which will air live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on May 28. 

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

JOB BOARD: Post a job or find a job: http://jobs.bizbash.com

With contributions from Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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