This year’s Burning Man 2023 will not be remembered fondly by most visitors. The event was marred by heavy rain and floods, which left festival visitors stranded. Unfortunately, there has been one reported fatality, as per CNN. After a challenging week, thousands of visitors were granted permission by event organizers to depart from the site at the beginning of this week (04/09/2023-10/09/2023).
In addition to the restrictions on movement, some visitors began their journeys back home earlier. So, of the 72,000 visitors at Burning Man, when the ban was lifted, the remaining 64,000 started to leave the site.
Typically, festival visitors are accustomed to extreme heat. However, this year, the weather took them by surprise, causing a delay in the burning of the totem due to the heavy rain. In just a 24-hour period, Northwest Nevada received as much rain as it typically averages in 2 to 3 months.
Due to the long queues and heavy traffic at the site, it took vehicles a total of 7 hours to exit the temporary city.
What is Burning Man?
Burning Men is an annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA, located approximately 100 miles north of Reno, Nevada.
Burning Men is known for promoting extreme self-expression, creative artistry, and a lack of rules or structure. Unlike many events, there are no tickets or entry fees, and visitors are encouraged to bring all the supplies they need to survive the week. The only requirement is that visitors register for the event. Furthermore, it’s a core principle that visitors must clean up after themselves and leave the location as they found it.
Burning Men’s origins trace back to the early 1980s when it started with the tradition of lighting bonfires in the desert during the summer solstice. The festival’s official beginning is dated to 22/06/1986, when Larry Harvey, Jerry James, and a group of friends burned a wooden man and a dog in the desert. The festival’s timing has since shifted, and it now typically takes place during the week before Labor Day, around September 4th each year.
The central highlight of the festival today remains the burning of the wooden man totem. Alongside this moment, the Burning Man festival showcases a multitude of art and art installations. These installations come in diverse forms and have no set limitations, ranging from straightforward sculptures to intricate themed camps. Music and dance also play a significant role in the festival, offering visitors a platform to engage with new forms of artistic expression.
