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About Burning Man
Burning Man is a global arts and cultural movement. The awe and connection offered by Burning Man culture serve as catalysts to bring out the most playful, innovative, creative aspects of humanity.
Burning Man Project is the nonprofit in service to the global Burning Man cultural movement. Through Arts, Culture, Education, Civic Involvement, the Philosophical Center, and Social Enterprise, the nonprofit:
- Brings people together by supporting gatherings that spark belonging and moments of awe
- Stimulates innovation and creativity by supporting participatory art and hands-on innovation
- Advances the culture through storytelling by developing content that inspires and educates
Black Rock City is a temporary participatory city that convenes approximately 80,000 people in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. The collaborative act of building an ephemeral city inspires people to cultivate more connection, creativity, and awe in their day-to-day lives and the world they live in.
Download a pdf of the 2025 Playa Backgrounder here.
The Burning man Global cultural movement:
- Brings people together. From neighborhood meet-ups to civic art projects to Black Rock City, the nonprofit supports gatherings that spark belonging and moments of awe and wonder.
- Stimulates innovation and creativity. By supporting art, architecture, engineering, or emergent forms of expression, the nonprofit celebrates the inherent creativity in every human being.
- Advances the culture through storytelling. Whether through media or person-to-person learning, the nonprofit develops storytelling content that inspires and educates.
Hot Topics for 2025
THE GLOBAL CULTURAL IMPACT OF BURNING MAN
Burning Man is having an impact on global culture, influencing how people gather, create and innovate, and engage with their local communities. In 2024, approximately 100,000 people participated in more than 80 community-run Regional Events in 34 countries around the world. From community resilience projects organized by Burners Without Borders chapters, to interactive public art installations and cultural events, Burning Man is creating ripples well beyond Black Rock City.
SUSTAINABILITY
Burning Man Project’s sustainability efforts are guided by the 2030 Environmental Sustainability Roadmap, which outlines three goals: No Matter Out of Place; Be Regenerative; Be Carbon Negative.
- Net Zero Black Rock City is working to take BRC off fossil fuels and empowering participants to reduce emissions
- The Man, Temple, Center Camp, Gate, and DMV run on renewable power
- BRC teams are adding batteries to power grids, testing renewable fuels, and expanding solar infrastructure
- The Green Corridor, on 4:00 through F and 7:00 through B, highlights camps with innovative sustainability projects
- At Fly Ranch, Burning Man Project’s rural center, innovators prototype sustainability projects that come to life in Black Rock City and beyond
Black Rock City in 2025
THE 2025 THEME: TOMORROW TODAY
The 2025 Burning Man theme is an invitation to imagine the future in new ways, and to make it real through our collective actions. In the spirit of the great world fairs, which celebrated scientific progress, cultural exchange, and artistic excellence, Tomorrow Today highlights Burning Man’s global culture of art and innovation. Throughout this dusty metropolis, inventors and creators are prototyping new ways of relating, creating, and innovating that have an impact well beyond the dust.
Shape & Size of the City
- The pentagon that encompasses Black Rock City is 3,879 acres or 6.06 square miles
- The city grid (without open playa) is 1,113.9 acres or 2.5 square miles
- The trash fence, which circles the city is 9.2 miles long
- 750 Department of Public Works staff build Black Rock City infrastructure
- 625 yellow-clad staff lend their skills to the city’s Emergency Services Department
- 750 Black Rock Rangers help mediate disputes and foster a safe community
- 1,152 placed theme camps and hundreds of unplaced and impromptu camps bring interactivity
- 740 mutant vehicles roam the playa as interactive, mobile art
Art in Black Rock City
Art in Black Rock City expresses Burning Man’s participatory and inclusive ethos. In 2025, Burning Man Project granted $1.6 million to art through Black Rock City Honoraria and Temple programs. Visit the ARTery on Esplanade near 6:30 to learn about the art and join an Art Discovery Tour. There are:
- 77 funded Honoraria art projects and 263 other registered pieces
- 14 installations, including the Man and Temple, scheduled to burn
2025 Man Pavilion “The World Fair of Unity”
By Puerto Rican artist Mark Rivera, “The World Fair of Unity” gathers citizens from around the world to celebrate creativity, diversity, and shared humanity. This pavilion is a hub of expression, a vibrant space for performances, art exhibitions, and the exchange of ideas.
- From toes to the top of head, the Man is 38’ tall
- Including the Man Pavilion, the entire structure is 70’ tall
- 15 artworks are placed within and around the Man Pavilion
“Temple of the Deep”
The 2025 Temple was created by Spanish architect and Regional Contact Miguel Arraiz. The design references a literal black rock, inspired by the surrounding landscape. A bold evolution from previous years, “Temple of the Deep” has a natural yet futuristic vision that is simultaneously raw and ornate.
More About Burning Man
Radical Inclusion, Diversity and Equity
Media Archive (past event coverage)