Burning Man 2020 would have taken place in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada from Aug. 30 to Sept. 7. In what is undoubtedly a second home to the approximately 80,000 people who attend every year, like the rest of us, COVID-19 removed a pillar of a community and its “residents,” so to speak, have gone elsewhere to keep the spirit alive.
People have gathered at Black Rock City itself, and others have put on such distasteful events like ReUnite in the past couple weeks. Saturday night, according to San Francisco Mayor London Breed, “over 1,000 people crowded on Ocean Beach to celebrate Burning Man. This was absolutely reckless & selfish. You are not celebrating. You are putting people’s lives at risk. You are putting our progress at risk. No one is immune from spreading the virus.”
The following night, Burning Man condemned the gathering.
“As members of our global community continue to honor Burning Man culture this weekend, we urge everyone to refrain from gathering unsafely in large groups, maintain public health, and respect local, state, and federal guidelines,” Burning Man Project posted on Twitter. “Let’s all help prevent the spread of the COVID-19.”
The dance music community is not alone in throwing renegade events. However, as a culture that has faced years of uphill battles to be recognized as safe and fun for the general public, the eyes of scrutiny are perhaps trained harder on us than other genres or events. From Los Angeles to New York to Miami, ill-equipped and misdirected organizers have thrown events that, while they may not always contribute in COVID cases, do contribute to the public’s negative perception of our community.
Plenty of EDM events are already scheduled for 2021, major events like EDC, Ubbi Dubbi, etc. But these events now only serve to fuel the fire that local legislators and town leaders have been stoking for decades.
“We urge everyone to refrain from gathering unsafely in large groups, maintain public health, and respect local, state, and federal guidelines,” they say… we couldn’t agree more.
As members of our global community continue to honor Burning Man culture this weekend, we urge everyone to refrain from gathering unsafely in large groups, maintain public health, and respect local, state, and federal guidelines. Let’s all help prevent the spread of the COVID-19.
— Burning Man Project (@burningman) September 7, 2020
We’ve heard people may return tonight. Don’t do it.
We will be closing the parking lots at Ocean Beach. Law enforcement will be patrolling.
We know people love Burning Man & people want to get together this weekend. But we all need to do our part. Stay home, stay safe.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) September 6, 2020