Burning Man 2021 has officially been canceled, organizers announced Tuesday, saying uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic “are impossible to resolve in the time we have.”
“We have decided to set our sights on Black Rock City 2022,” organizers said in an announcement, referring to the temporary city erected in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for the event every summer.
Instead, Burning Man is expected to go virtual from Aug. 21 to Sept. 5. A similar virtual event was hosted last year, after the 2020 in-person Burning Man was scratched.
Producers for other large-scale festivals, such as the highly-anticipated Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, have opted to still move forward with their outdoor gatherings — which can attract more than 70,000 people a day — to a later date than usual.
Burning Man organizers said the logistics involved in pulling the event off this year, along with the permitting process in Nevada, have prevented them from doing the same.
