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Even though Burning Man won't happen until Labor Day weekend, organizers have already made the decision to take the festival online this year.
“After much listening, discussion, and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision not to build Black Rock City in 2020,” organizers said in a statement.
Luckily, the theme of this year’s festival was already set to be “multiverse," with a focus on multiple and alternate realities. Organizers plan to lean into the theme in an unprecedented way by offering virtual events and workshops (think yoga, meditation and art classes) to Playa enthusiasts over the course of a week and are already asking Burners to offer their own workshops and classes.
Attendees who have already purchased tickets for 2020 will be able to apply for a refund, or they can consider their purchase a donation to Burning Man's global volunteer program Burners Without Borders.
For many Burners though, the annual festival serves as a welcome getaway from the digital world and a reconnection with the land and people. We can only wait, hope and see if the organization is able to recreate that spirit in a digital realm.
“I am not here to tell you we are canceling Burning Man,” the festival's CEO, Marian Goodell, promised in a video. “Burning Man is a culture, it’s a movement...Burning Man is not just Black Rock City. What we do is year-round.”
