Burning Man got a little muddy this year

Tens of thousands of people at the Burning Man festival – from ravers to tech entrepreneurs to prominent Silicon Valley investors – ended up stranded in the Nevada desert over the weekend.

🔥♂️ Background: Burning Man – a week-long, large-scale desert campout focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance – was first started on a San Francisco beach in 1986 before being moved to Nevada in 1991. And, similar to a gangly teen who went through a glow-up over summer break, it’s become quite popular.

The first gathering had ~35 attendees. Now, more than 70,000 people regularly attend the event, including big names like Elon Musk and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

But Burning Man 2023 didn’t quite go according to plan

On Friday, the event, which was supposed to run from last Sunday through yesterday, experienced heavy rains. These rains turned the desert sand into mud, trapping attendees in place. Burning Man officials instructed attendees to shelter in place and conserve food, fuel, and water.

• Many who attempted to leave the 3,900-acre event site in vehicles without 4WD or all-terrain tires got stuck.
• Others – like Diplo and Chris Rock – were able to successfully get out after being picked up following a lengthy hike through the muck.

Roads seemed to be mostly passable yesterday, per USA Today, which reported witnessing “a growing stream of vehicles headed toward the exit” at 8:30 am.

Overall, it was a rough weekend for festivals. Electric Zoo, an EDM festival held each year in New York, canceled its first day (Friday) due to “unparalleled challenges” – then saw its gates stormed on Sunday, including by valid ticketholders, after announcing the event had reached capacity.

+Dive deeper: Who attends Burning Man? Take a look at its annual survey of attendees.