The coronavirus pandemic has now canceled “Burning Man,” the annual festival where hippies, pagans, and those generally interested in some unfettered debauchery, descend upon Black Rock, Nevada to embark on a week-long plunge into lewd madness.
“After much listening, discussion, and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision not to build Black Rock City in 2020,” festival organizers said in a statement last Friday. “Yes, we are heartbroken. We know you are too. In 2020 we need human connection and Immediacy more than ever. But public health and the well-being of our participants, staff, and neighbors in Nevada are our highest priorities.”
Ticket-holders need not despair, however, the festival will be going virtual by recreating the desert experience in a cyber landscape.
“We are, however, going to build Black Rock City in The Multiverse. That’s the theme for 2020 so we’re going to lean into it,” the statement continued. “Who’d have believed it would come true? We look forward to welcoming you to Virtual Black Rock City 2020. We’re not sure how it’s going to come out; it will likely be messy and awkward with mistakes. It will also likely be engaging, connective, and fun.”
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. journal.burningman.org/2020/04/news/o…
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People who have already purchased a ticket to the festival, which is typically held in the final weeks of August, can be given a refund if they desire it. For those who wish to keep their ticket, the festival said it is committed to providing the best possible experience.
“Whether you have already purchased a ticket, have been waiting for the Main Sale, or are simply supportive of our vision and mission — if you have the means, it is our sincerest hope that you will consider donating all or a portion of your ticket value, and/or making a tax-deductible donation to Burning Man Project,” the statement added. “This is going to be a tough year for us, as we know it will be for you, but we will get through it together.”
As noted by the Los Angeles Times, the festival of Burning Man is just one of many festivals and high-profile public events to be shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Coachella, SXSW, the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and the Met Gal, all have been either postponed or canceled.
Though Burning Man bills itself as a “safe space” for 1960’s refugees to partake in a week-long experiment of peace, free love, and communism, over the decades, the festival has now become a chic getaway for Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Hollywood fat cats who spend big money every year on “glam camps,” complete with private chefs, world-class DJs, and armored barriers to keep the proletariat away.
As the NY Post reported in 2018, the festival has transformed into a “networking event for Silicon Valley tech gurus and stifled Wall Streeters looking to blow off steam.”
“They’re not interested in totally roughing it — and that’s led to the creation of lavish camps known as ‘Billionaire’s Row’ with all the luxuries of the Ritz, including private chefs,” reported the outlet. “While most festival attendees refuel with canned soups, beef jerky and protein bars, those with limitless resources pay as much as $50,000 to camp in style with seated dinners and toothsome tasting menus.”
Naturally, the regular “Burners” have not taken kindly to these billionaire “parasites,” as some call them. In 2016, some even took their rage to revolutionary heights when they vandalized one of these glam camps, flooding it with raw sewage and cutting their power lines.
“You’re a closed camp and not very welcoming,” said one Burner. “I got yelled at for coming too close to your ‘gates.’ We know you hire people in to cook and do other things. Feeding friends of your paid campers does not count as feeding Burners.”
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