As competition at the World Cup in Qatar is set to heat up over the weekend, fans are arriving on site ahead of the action and are far from satisfied with the accommodations, to say the least.
Fans have expressed their extreme disappointment upon arrival via videos and images taken to the internet, comparing the poor arrangements to the infamous Fyre Festival.
In one clip taken to Twitter, a fan revealed the housing situation for the fans in Qatar. He showed footage of standard white tends lined up along a paved ground.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Inside the shown tent, there are double beds wrapped in plastic alongside a wooden nightstand. No other forms of furniture are seen within the space.
A different fan is having a much more positive experience, taking his well-furnished room that oversees the stadium to the internet. The carpeted space is nicely furnished with a couch and a high table.
Some fans are arguing that the fancier room is an upgraded living space for the tournament while the white-tented area is a standard convention center, which is pretty consistent with living situations at other World Cups.
Besides the living accommodations, some fans are taking their food experiences to social media, blasting the site’s poor meals and its high price.
A fan posted an image of a Greek salad from the World Cup fan zone which included a small amount of lettuce, cucumber and onion paired with a single olive and feta cheese cube mixed in.
The fan shared that the disappointing salad cost him nearly $10.
As a jab at Fyre Festival, a person posted an image of a styrofoam plate with a small side of salad, two pieces of toast and two slices of cheese saying, “I heard this is the lunch they get on arrival.”
The plate was the infamous cheese and salad sandwich guests were given at Fyre Festival.
What happened at Fyre Festival?
The Fyre Festival was set for April and May of 2017 in the Bahamas but was canceled due to fraud.
During the “luxury” music festival’s inaugural weekend, the event experienced many issues pertaining to food, medical treatment, security, artist accommodations and sleeping arrangements, resulting in cancellation.
Festival attendees had paid big sums of money to be treated with gourmet meals and luxury villas but they received prepackaged foods and hospital tents as their accommodations instead.
What happened after Fyre Festival?
One of the festival founders — Billy McFarland — pleaded guilty in March 2018 to one count of wire fraud to defraud ticket holders and investors and a second count to defraud a ticket vendor that took place while he was on bail.
McFarland was sentenced to six years of prison in 2018 and had to give up $26 million.
Since the fraudulent music festival, two documentaries were released: Hulu’s Fyre Fraud and Netflix’s Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened.