Festival-goers tell BFMTV.com how they experienced the 2023 edition of the American Burning Man rally when heavy rains turned the site into a field of mud.
At Burning Man, “everything stopped the moment the rain started.” This American cultural gathering, which takes place every year in the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada, had a somewhat special edition in 2023.
Last weekend, after heavy rain, the festival site turned into a huge swamp.
“We had our fingers crossed that the tent would last,” Charlotte, a French participant, told BFMTV.com.
“Barefoot in the mud”
“We couldn’t move anymore,” explains her friend Myriam. Some art installations and events have been canceled and the burning of the wooden giant erected in the middle of the “playa,” which usually marks the end of the eponymous festival, has been postponed until Monday.
But from Saturday morning “everything started all over again” and “we looked for ways to turn the music back on,” the festival visitors smile. Then they had to learn to deal with the mud: “We’re not going to lie, we weren’t ready for the cold,” Myriam admits.
“In order to walk, you had to be barefoot in the mud in the beginning, and it was really cold,” she says.
Ventriglisses and sculptures
Despite everything, some tried to take advantage of the gathering by using the mud for “ventrilisses” or “sculptures,” according to Charlotte. “It brought everyone together a little,” she believes.
Others preferred to leave, sometimes on foot, and left their tents there. Those who tried to return by car sometimes found themselves trapped by the mud. Police in the US state of Nevada also announced on Saturday that they were investigating a death “that occurred during this heavy rain episode,” without providing further details about the circumstances of the death.
The festival finally reopened on Monday and the approximately 70,000 participants were able to begin their departure. For their part, the French women claim that they still “enjoyed” the event.
Nicolas Pyzik with Sophie Cazaux