Google's Founders Once Interviewed Their CEO at Burning Man. Now the Desert Festival Is Struggling to Sell Tickets. Is Burning Man's popularity extinguishing?
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- Burning Man is a festival in Black Rock City, Nevada that draws over 70,000 attendees.
- Tickets for the festival usually sell out quickly, but this year tickets are still available.
- Two years of unexpected weather and tough economic conditions could be to blame.
Burning Man is in nine days. Why are there still tickets on sale?
The August desert festival, which brings over 70,000 people to Black Rock City, Nevada for eight days, has had some of the world's wealthiest in attendance over the years, including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk. The event has sold out every year since 2011 — often within minutes of ticket sale windows opening up.
This year, though, sales of Burning Man's $575-plus tickets are slower. Potential attendees could still purchase tickets online at the time of writing, and ticket resellers reported 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 of unexpected weather and tough economic conditions could have slowed demand for the festival this year.
Rainbow over muddy Burning Man festival grounds in September 2023. Photo by David Crane/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
In 2023, Burning Man attendees faced rain and mud that left them stranded, flooded some camps, and shut down private airspace used by wealthy guests. When roads were safe enough to travel, festival attendees faced a five-hour traffic jam as they attempted to leave.
Related: Video: Over 70,000 People Trapped at Burning Man Amid Flooding, Leading to Disastrous 'Mass Exodus'
In 2022, temperatures rose above 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 could also pose a significant cost for guests. Though there are discounted $225 tickets available for limited-income participants, attendees have to pay to get to the festival and fuel their vehicles. They face additional costs if they want to transport art.
Rising inflation also means higher living costs, which could take priority over attending the festival.
"With food and housing making more immediate concerns a priority, many are choosing to skip a year or two in order to solidify their living situation," Kaden Sinclair, president of the Idaho Burners Alliance, told The Guardian.
Attendance is still likely to be above 70,000 people this year, Marian Goodell, Burning Man Project chief executive, told the New York Times.
Burning Man was the place 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 [that] was an important criterion."
Schmidt got the job and served as Google CEO for a decade, until 2011.
