The Tribune

IT IS easy to blame organisers for the debacle that was supposed to be a glam-packed Fyre Festival and instead went up in flames, becoming the non-event, empty tent city with pictures that went viral and fury heard round the world.

But blaming it on organisers alone would hardly do justice to the deeper causes of the travesty.

Fyre Festival was an international embarrassment exposing how poorly we plan, our lack of adherence to the establishment and expectation of meeting standards, rules and regulations for any event or even for the conducting of business. And the sad part is that we can do so much better. At the same time as cameras, microphones and social media were focused on the failure in Exuma, the magnificently executed FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was going on in Nassau with far less immediate attention. Teams from 16 countries convened, every player, coach and troupe member or follower was accommodated. Tickets and free or VIP seating was organised, vendors open for business, signage and medical attention on site. Two years of planning had gone into the event and its promotion, scouting for and signing partners, sponsors and 200-plus volunteers, building the stadium and literally sifting the sand. Endless hours of meetings and co-operative effort resulted in a near flawless event televised in 209 countries, though to a smaller audience than professed shock about the concert venue and festival experience that caved.

Tragically, the Exuma meltdown a short plane ride away from the excellence of the beach soccer tournament typified how we do business far too often - executing on an ad lib, ad hoc basis. That ad lib, ad hoc basis is the same platform for multi-million dollar giveaways in Heads of Agreement on too many projects, the largest of which we the public just learned about days after it was signed, in secret, without public input and with decisions rendered by the government and the purchaser (though it was our property and tax money they were discussing).

We are not discussing the rights or wrongs of the Agreement itself, merely the ad hoc process by which this and other agreements are reached. We know tax incentives grow the economy but we strongly believe such incentives should be enacted following consultation. They should be widely understood and evenly applied. If VAT and Real Property Tax exemption are to be offered to Baha Mar’s new owner, why would they not also be offered to the Bahamian family who wants to build a small bed and breakfast on South Beach? Why is everything negotiated on a one-on-one basis? And why always, always at the last minute?

This is one scramblin’ society. When we don’t plan it right from the start and stick with the planning process, we get really good at scramblin’ our way through. We do not publish the rules and therefore, we don’t have to stick to them. And so we scramble to make things work.

Fyre Festival was an example of how we scramble to make things work at the last minute. Unfortunately, Fyre Festival was the last minute scramble that ran out of time, the Hurricane Joaquin of rock concerts. And that is the real reason Fyre Festival went up in flames. Because between the Ministry of Tourism and the organisers, there were few rules to adhere to and less advance planning than many a Bahamian grammy puts into having all the ingredients to turn out a hearty Sunday meal after church.

It is our own fault that we have become so good at scrambling we have come to depend on it and let it substitute for the kind of planning that went into the Beach Soccer World Cup. Fyre Festival’s front-end marketing appeal showed the most effort. Promises of days of sun-speckled days and starry night glamour, entertainment and fine food on an exotic island surrounded by the world’s most beautiful waters lured hundreds who paid up to tens of thousands of dollars to be part of history. They pictured mingling with the likes of the Kardashians as they nibbled on fresh seafood and sipped on fine champagne before bedding down in ultra-luxurious accommodations. When the first 150 or so arrived on a rain-soaked morning in Exuma where their luxury accommodations turned out to be tents that were not ready yet and nearby hotel rooms were all booked because it was also National Family Island Regatta, there was pandemonium. Several locals lent assistance, neighbouring Grand Isle Villas, even though full, put up as many as they could and fed more than 100. Headlines that screamed within hours in online publications from Vanity Fair to Rolling Stone and The Guardian (UK version) will fade and Exuma may even benefit long-term from the exposure.

The real problem lies far deeper and that is the lesson we should learn from Fyre Festival. If we do learn, then we can say thanks to the festival that went up in flames.