Burning Man Fails to Sell Out Week Before Event Amid Festival Slowdown 

Burning Man has always been a coveted event, bringing tens of thousands of people to the Nevada desert to create Black Rock City. While previous events sold out within 30 minutes of going on sale, this year’s festival has failed to sell out just over a week before it begins.

This year’s event is set to take place from August 25 to September 2. The festival allocated 73,000 tickets, though since its initial sale in April, there are still tickets up-for-grabs. In order to sell the remainder of this year’s tickets, Burning Man has opened up tickets to non-registered buyers for the first time ever. Tickets will be available as a part of the newly-announced “OMG Sale,” where 3,000 buyers have the ability to purchase up to four last-minute tickets.

Tickets begin at $575 — with a $30 delivery fee, Nevada Live Entertainment Tax at $51.75, and Credit Card Processing fee of $23.13 tacked-on. Vehicle passes are an additional $150, while VIP tickets are available for $1,500 without fees.

The lack of enthusiasm surrounding this year’s event could have to do with the chaos during Burning Man’s 2023 edition; the nine-day event was originally delayed due to Hurricane Hilary, which led to flooding in the playa. During the 2022 event, thousands were stuck for over eight hours on the two-lane road leading to the nearest major highway. However, last year, attendees couldn’t even leave if they wanted to, as rainfall caused the streets to become impassable.

| READ: Burning Man Eventgoers ‘Stranded’ After Flood Leaves Roads Impassable | 

Burners were trapped in the desert for up to three days, and attendees were forced to conserve water and gas to survive. Some even made the trek out of the desert on-foot, walking miles through the mud.

Aside from 2023’s messy outcome, Burning Man might have fallen victim to this year’s festival lull.  Since the start of 2024, dozens of festivals across the globe have been called-off; more than 60 Dutch festivals were cancelled, 45 festivals in the U.K. were either called-off or postponed, and Australia’s big-name events like Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo festivals did not move forward.

| READ: Festival Season Hits Lull With Dozens Cancelled This Summer | 

Even in the U.S., festivals are struggling. Coachella, a once-coveted event, took one month to sell-out of its first weekend — marking the longest sellout for the first time in 10 years. The second weekend failed to sell out. Other festivals didn’t even make the cut, as Firefly announced it would not return to Dover and Jay-Z’s Made in America festival was called-off for the second year in a row. Lovers & Friends’ inaugural festival was also cancelled, as well as Backwoods Festival and Kickoff Jam.

The festival market has been hit hard post-pandemic. While production costs could be a contributing factor, it also boils down to fan interest. If a festival is not on a fan’s must-see list, they’re simply not going to shell out the money. Big-name acts — like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and P!nk — are thriving and selling-out stadiums, yet other acts like The Black Keys and Jennifer Lopez cancelled their entire tours amid low sales. Dynamic pricing and ticket price hikes are partially to blame; across the industry, fans are being priced-out of shows, with artists and promoters often dubbed the culprit.