Burning Man postpones main ticket sale for 2020 festival
News
Burning Man has postponed the launch of its main ticket sale for 2020’s festival.
Last week, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, organisers stated that plans for the annual gathering were to “proceed with caution”. However, in a new blog post the team behind the festival revealed that they would delay its main ticket sale while they continued to seek “critical information” surrounding COVID-19’s potential impact on proceedings.
“As you all know, there’s a tremendous amount of uncertainty right now,” the post reads. “Given that reality, we believe the prudent next step is to postpone our upcoming ticket sale.”
Ticket registration was scheduled to launch yesterday, 1st April, with the official sale kicking off on the 8th. However, as the organisers outline, “We are going to gather more information over the coming weeks so that we can make a more informed decision. We have not yet set an alternative date for the registration and sale.”
In February, Directed Group Sale tickets were made available to those on critical crews for theme camps and art installations, as well as for other infrastructure providers at the festival. These tickets have all already been purchased.
In addition to sharing the main ticket postponement update, Burning Man has detailed a potential review to its stringent no-refund policy if this year’s festival is indeed to be cancelled.
“We are exploring every possible option for offering refunds if the 2020 event is canceled,” the organisers write. “Our terms and conditions state that tickets are non-refundable ‘for any reason’, but we recognize how unusual this situation is, and are sensitive to the financial insecurity many in our community are facing. At the same time, building a city in the desert requires year-round planning and preparation; we have dozens of permanent employees who work full-time creating Black Rock City. We also facilitate year-round nonprofit programming including Burners Without Borders, the Regional Network, and Fly Ranch. Issuing refunds would be challenging for our nonprofit, but we are examining all possible scenarios that would enable all of us to weather this storm.”
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen innumerable festivals cancelled or postponed, and countless clubs closed indefinitely, DJ Mag are asking our readers — if they can — to support venues and other nightlife causes that are under threat. We have curated a support directory here, demonstrating the ways you can help.
