The grounds of the 2023 Burning Man Festival
Photo: AFP via Getty Images, JULIE JAMMOT. All rights reserved.
Not only Wacken 2023 developed into a mud fight this summer, as the Burning Man Festival recently proved. Due to unexpected rainfall in the desert in the US state of Nevada, where the art event traditionally takes place, the entire festival site became muddy. More than 70,000 guests were stuck in the middle of nowhere for several days. But now the departure is safe again, and tens of thousands of fans are making their way home.
The Burning Man Festival took place from August 27th to September 4th this year. Or rather, that was the original plan. Flooding occurred due to unusually heavy rainfall in the region. The dry desert ground could not absorb the water masses quickly enough, which is why the entire area turned into a single mud bath. The situation got so bad that the organizers even had to end Burning Man early. There was even one death, the victim of which has now been identified as a 32-year-old man. Celebs like Diplo and Chris Rock fled as fast as they could.
All remaining festival-goers were asked to remain on site over the weekend. The weather made it impossible to drive on the road to and from the festival site. Since Monday (September 4th) the path has been dry enough to leave the area. As expected, and due to the still slightly damp ground, Burning Man fans are now stuck in traffic.