Burning Man has introduced a new tiered ticket pricing model for its 2025 edition that intends to make the festival "accessible to all who wish to participate".
With tickets now priced at $550, $650, $750, $950, $1,500 and $3,000 (plus taxes and fees), the gathering's new pay-what-you-will system will enable ticket-buyers to choose their tier on a first-come, first-served basis. Prospective burners have until 11th February to register for tickets, before the sale officially launches on the 12th. Previously, the lower-priced tickets have only been between offered in April and July.
According to a post on Burning Man's website, the idea is that the lower-priced tickets will be "supported" or subsidised by those who volunteer to pay for one of the "several tiers of higher-priced tickets" – "This means YOU are helping to bring more dusty humans, and sponsoring more participatory art, Radical Self-expression, joy and awe in the wondrous city we all build together."
The news comes in the midst of a financially fraught time for the Nevada Desert event, which reported a $5.7 million budget shortfall last year on top of a $3 million drop in earnings from standard ticket sales and vehicle passes. Weeks before its 2024 event, Burning Man launched an "unprecedented" ticket drive due to lower than expected sales, having failed to sell out for the first time in years. In October 2024, this prompted CEO Marian Goodell to call for urgent donations of up to $20 million to “secure” Burning Man's future, saying the "need for philanthropic support is extremely urgent".
The new ticketing system has proved controversial in certain camps, with some criticising the festival for a "lack of transparency". One poster on Reddit said: "I'd be a much more optimistic about this if they released how many tickets there would be at each tier. I get the feeling that they'll change how many per tier to whatever best suits them at the moment and that's a shitty thing to do to your community that bears much of the cost to produce the event."
Others accused the festival of trying to achieve "total market manipulation", drawing comparisons with Ticketmaster's much-maligned dynamic pricing model. "They are trying to create panic buying by telling people their tickets might cost 3k if they wait too long," wrote one Reddit user.
Burning Man 2025, based around a Tomorrow Today theme, will be held in the Black Rock Desert in northwest Nevada from 24th August to 1st September. Registration for tickets closes on 11th February at 12pm PST. Ticket sales open at 12pm PST on 12th February. Visit the Burning Man site for more info and tickets here.