FYRE FESTIVAL: ‘I don’t think they really knew how big this thing was’

photo

IAN NICHOLSON

Not enough time, no planning, locals working 20-hour days and not getting paid. Ava Turnquest hears from one man caught in the festival fiasco . . .

CARPENTER Ian Nicholson relocated to Exuma from Abaco to work on the Fyre Festival, which he saw as an opportunity to further his career and building experience. Like many native sons, he left home chasing employment - a phenomenon that is common across the aging Family Islands.

“Everything wasn’t ready,” said Mr Nicholson, who joined the team due to his work on Festival Rum Bahamas, a much smaller annual production hosted at Fort Charlotte in Nassau.

To provide context for the inadequate time frame, Mr Nicholson said the production schedule for Rum Bahamas was six weeks, a stark comparison to the three weeks in which Fyre organisers attempted to produce their event.

“They were supposed to push it in July because to have it in April whilst regatta going on locals can hardly find places to stay while here for regatta so imagine a crowd of 3,000 people along with the regatta crowd,” he told The Tribune during a recent tour of the Rolleville settlement.

“The island couldn’t deal with it. But I could see where they tried. A lot of the guests were mad because the places weren’t ready; they could have worked with it. If the tents was ready, if they had enough time, it could have worked out but they tried to rush that.

“It wasn’t enough time, that festival was too big. I don’t think they really knew how big this thing was. All the time they were taking out to party and bring these models down from January, they were supposed to be doing the planning for the event first. It looks to me like they just started planning, that’s why the stuff reach so late, and then the work start late.

“This place could have been set up a month before the event, and then as the weeks go you’re just testing stuff. I think this was the biggest event ever; I don’t think the Bahamas ever had an event as big as this - we could have worked it if there was enough time. They could have even worked with Sandals if they planned it out, all they needed was the rooms.

“If they had planned from January or December, Sandals could have made way for a few rooms and then you could have sorted out all the houses so that time as February the tents would be on the ground just setting up beds and rugs.

“Tourism had to be involved; how could this have happened if tourism wasn’t involved? Thousands of people coming into the country, who was involved then? Who get the money for the people to do this shit? And then the hurtful part about it, all the people that work. All the old people that was making up beds day in and day out, they ain’t get no money man.

“I was going to work in the morning 8am and knocking off three and four in the morning, all week. And no one get pay.”

During the height of construction, the site was shut down for the day after a site visit from officials revealed that workers did not have insurance. The whole day was lost, according to Mr Nicholson.

“It was already late but they take a whole day away. That day was valuable; if we had one more day a lot of things could have been done. I was trying to tell them also, with this timing they were supposed to be working 24-hour shifts. They were relaxed with this eight-hour shift for the first two weeks and then when they see everything boiling down they start talking overtime.

“It was behind by a couple days because when those persons start flying in, when those tents get book out, some of the tents only dirt was on the ground; they didn’t even get to put the mat or carpets down. So people started taking beds out of other tents. You imagine you came early got in, put your stuff down only to come back and meet your stuff thrown on the floor and no beds in sight?”