We will never forget that fateful day in April 2017 when the internet learned of the fiasco that was Fyre Festival. Advertised as the luxury music event of the year with headliners including Major Lazer and Disclosure, and resident influencer attendees from Bella Hadid to Hailey Bieber, it turned out to be an empty field with rain-soaked disaster relief tents and American cheese singles on bread to eat.
Now, Dîner en Blanc – an annual event held in locations around the world – is being compared to Fyre Festival, as guests took to social media to share the scenes of chaos.
Dîner en Blanc is an event held at different secret locations which are revealed on the day, guests are asked to wear white and dress up to enjoy a 'chic picnic' with a French high society theme. Having pre-ordered food and wine, guests bring their own tables and chairs and set up in the temporary space provided by the organisers, taking everything with them when they leave 'out of respect for their city's public space.'
Unfortunately, last Friday's event didn't quite go to plan.
‘Last night was the most underwhelming, over-priced and disorganised event I have ever been to… This was our very own Fyre Festival,’ guest Amy Parry commented on the event’s Facebook page.
‘It was three and a half hours of standing around and getting to the location (which I paid £25 for ‘bus or boat’ and then simply rode the local bus); our £45 hamper took an hour+ to get, was scrappy at best and missing almost all the items in the description, including a bottle of wine; the tables were rammed in so we spent all night getting up and down to let people by; it was in a marquee in a local park and not at all the experience I see online.’
Others took to Twitter to share their annoyance at the event’s lack of organisation, with Twitter user @tjmontse sharing a picture of guests waiting in line, and the caption; ‘Massive let down at #DinerEnBlanc. Been standing in the cold for ages. Almost 3 hours since the meeting time and still not started.’
Dîner en Blanc, which has been running for 31 years, aims to recreate the ‘glamour of French high society’, and keeps the exclusive location a secret until the last minute . A spokesperson for the company issued a statement saying that the catering was to blame. ‘It was not ideal for guests to have to wait to get into the space or collect the items they had purchased. We apologise for that part of the evening and the ordering system that did not work well enough to accommodate guests.’