You’ll be able to virtually attend Burning Man 2020 after coronavirus cancellation
Although the coronavirus has thwarted most plans for summer 2020, Burning Man says the show must go on. The festival was scheduled for August 30th through September 7th in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. But according to an April 10th statement, Burning Man 2020 will now be a totally virtual event. Exact details are still being worked out, but here’s what you can expect from the online version of the iconic festival.
It won’t be quite the same mystical, energized experience as attending Burning Man in Black Rock City, the venue built in the desert specifically for the music and arts festival. But Marian Goodell, chief executive of the Burning Man Project nonprofit, remains hopeful that putting Burning Man online will be a fun experience for festival-goers.
“I’m sad that Black Rock City went away,” she told The Washington Post. “And I’m engaged. I feel the energy of the opportunity to take what people want about connecting, and about Burning Man, about this moment in time, and bringing it together.”
“Only Black Rock City is canceled,” Goodell said. “Burning Man is alive.”
Goodell said the inspiration to take Burning Man virtual actually came from the “burners” themselves—the faithful attendees and performers. Burners contacted the Burning Man Project and offered to help build the event: “People with art cars said they’d do virtual demos; large-format artists offered to give online lessons; chefs said they could stream lessons on how to cook for a large crowd, as they would at camp; would-be attendees said they were still building their camps, only these camps would be in virtual reality,” according to The Washington Post.
In the interest of the health & wellbeing of our community, we have decided not to build Black Rock City this year. Burning Man, however, is alive & well, and we look forward to seeing you in the Multiverse. Read more in the Burning Man Journal. https://t.co/3FHPq1CGVH
— Burning Man Project (@burningman) April 11, 2020
“It brings tears to my eyes,” Goodell said. “Because I had no plan except to give people hope. And people are coming up with their own plans. And they’re rising above it.”
The Burning Man 2020 theme, “The Multiverse,” will now be applied to the online event as well, though specifics on how that will happen have not yet been sorted. Goodell released a video on April 10th explaining the move to the online sphere.
As for tickets, there seems to be some discrepancy as the festival organizers determine specifics. The Washington Post reported that the event will be “no tickets required, but donations accepted.” The Los Angeles Times reported that attendees will need “some kind of ticket” to offset costs. Those who have already purchased tickets to in-person Burning Man this year will be issued a refund or be able to offer their ticket cost as a donation.
Follow the Burning Man journal to stay up to date on how this year’s event will look and what will be offered virtually.
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