Burning Man Changes Ticket Policy
Burning Man, the seminal experience in the Black Rock desert, has made two changes to its ticket buying policy that could have a major impact on the 2008 event.
The first modification will certainly keep many of the punters from attending… “New for 2008: No tickets will be sold at our event site gate.” This means that the thousands of attendees who make that last minute decision to jump in their car and head for the desert will now be denied access. For many of the Burning Old Guard, this could translate into a huge improvement in the overall quality of the shindig.
The second change is revealed by three small words in the 2008 tiered fee structure. The first 10,000 will cost $210 each, the second 10,000 tickets will set you back $225 each, the next 10,000 tickets will be sold at $250 each, and after that the tickets will cost $295, and here’s the kicker, while supplies last. This means that for the first time, Burning Man will cap the amount of tickets available.
Now part of this is necessary due to the terms of its deal with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The attendance for each year of Burning Man cannot exceed 6% of its previous year’s turn out.
However, this may also be another way for the organizers to maintain a “quality of life” standard for the event that has, in recent years, garnered some some unsavory and unctuous characters.
