Burning Man is in nine days. Why are there still tickets for sale?
of August Festival in the Desertwhich brings over 70,000 people to Black Rock City, Nevada for eight days, has had some of the the richest in the world present over the years, including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. The event has sold out every year since 2011 — often within minutes opening of ticket sales windows.
This year, however, Burning Man's sales Tickets over $575 are slower. Prospective attendees could still buy tickets online at the time of writing and reported ticket resellers that they were facing losses of several hundred dollars when they tried to sell tickets they no longer wanted.
So what has changed? Two years unexpected weather and difficult economic conditions could have slowed demand for the festival this year.
Rainbow over the muddy grounds of the Burning Man festival in September 2023. Photo by David Crane/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
In 2023, Burning Man participants faced rain and mud it left them stranded, flooded several camps and closed private airspace used by wealthy guests. When the roads were safe enough to travel, the festival goers faced off a five-hour traffic jam as they tried to leave.
Related: Video: Over 70,000 people trapped in burning man amid floods, leading to catastrophic 'mass exodus'
In 2022, temps rose up 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the area, the highest in history for the region, prompting some guests to stay inside the shelter they brought to the festival.
The event can also be a significant cost to guests. Although there are discounts $225 ticket available to participants with limited income, participants must pay to get to the festival and fuel their vehicles. They face additional costs if they want to transport the art.
Increase in inflation it also means higher living costs, which may take precedence over festival attendance.
“With food and shelter making more immediate concerns a priority, many are choosing to spend a year or two trying to shore up their living situation,” said Kaden Sinclair, president of the Idaho Burners Alliance. The Guardian.
Attendance is still likely to top 70,000 people this year, said Marian Goodell, chief executive of the Burning Man Project. New York Times.
Burning Man was where Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin tested Eric Schmidt for the CEO position in 2001, after a year of searching for candidates.
“Eric was… the only one who went to Burning Man,” Brin said at the time. “We thought (this) was an important criterion.”
Schmidt took the job and served as Google's CEO for a decade, until 2011.