It's unclear whether or not this is a publicity stunt, but it seems executives are confident of "radically recreating land used by the infamous festival" five years ago.
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The Fyre Festival was the stuff of nightmares — with a Netflix documentary offering the inside scoop on how one of 2017's hottest music events ended up in disaster.
It was meant to offer amazing food, the world's biggest musicians and luxury accommodation on an idyllic island in the Bahamas.
But those who made the trip were greeted with damp mattresses, mass chaos, and sorry-looking slices of cheese on pieces of bread.
Yet as we've all learned, people in the crypto world have short memories. It's now been announced that a company is planning to, er, sell 60 "ultra-luxurious pavilions and villas" on the exact same island where Fyre Festival flopped so spectacularly.
AGIA International claims that the plush properties will be built on Great Exuma Island "via a series of upcoming NFT mints on the Ethereum blockchain," which is being proclaimed as "an unprecedented step for Web3 and real estate."
It's unclear whether or not this is a publicity stunt, but it seems executives are confident of "radically recreating land used by the infamous festival" five years ago.
Vowing to create "the most exclusive enclave in the Caribbean," AGIA's co-founder Erik Sanderson said his company was focused on the future and not the past.
"We saw 60 acres of secluded, undeveloped land in the cul-de-sac of a beautiful island whose current government has allocated tens of millions to invest in its transportation, telecommunications and infrastructure throughout the island. Constructing this project will create more than 150 jobs and operating it will mean 125 long-term hospitality jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities."
Understandably, many of those living on Great Exuma might be incredibly wary of such a project — especially considering some local businesses were left tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket when Fyre flamed out.
But Sanderson argues that the project could bring "economic vitality" to the region, with climate change taking center stage as part of efforts to "leave a positive footprint for generations."
Unchained Partners — which is helping AGIA on the blockchain side of things — claims "there's never been a 100% tokenized resort-style community before," but we have seen some attempts.
Cryptoland was one of them, which went viral for all the wrong reasons after a cringeworthy promotional video went viral online. The project's efforts to build a 600-acre paradise in Fiji suffered a setback when a deal to buy a $12 million island fell through. Updates on its Twitter account have dried up in recent months, and it's now resorted to retweeting missives from the likes of Michael Saylor and Elon Musk.
To give AGIA the benefit of the doubt, the Bahamas has been trying to position itself as a crypto hub — and the company claims that it's been given the green light by the prime minister. A quote from the Honorable Philip E. Davis reads:
"The Bahamas is not only open and ready for business but moving to the forefront of the most exciting era in digital assets innovation. If the world of cryptocurrency is where you see your possibilities, then the Bahamas has a place for you."
It's also worth noting that this country was one of the first in the world to unveil a central bank digital currency: the Bahamian sand dollar.
Nonetheless, when it comes to such ambitious projects like this, history shows that the proof is in the pudding — as there have been far too many times when nothing has come to fruition after breathless announcements and braggadocious press releases.
Akon City… we're looking at you.
