Burning Man could be going ahead this year, however, organisers are considering mandatory vaccines as an entry requirement for the the 2021 edition, theme entitled ‘The Great Unknown’.
As those behind Burning Man continue discussions with local authorities, it hasn’t actually been confirmed if the event is to go ahead in Nevada later this year. Earlier this month, however, Burning Man’s CEO, Marian Goodell, received backlash from possible festival goers as she falsely claimed that the state of Nevada would require proof of vaccination to attend, a subsequent misunderstanding of COVID-19 guidance. The proposal was met with outrage as the idea carried the potential to isolate those who may be unable to receive the vaccine.
On the concerns shared over the mandatory vaccines, Goodell recently detailed in a vlog for the Burning Man Journal:
“We are super aware [of concerns] and thank you for your feedback, and we are weighing the gravity of what that does.
“And we know that [mandatory vaccination] challenges the concepts of radical inclusion, but at this point we kind of look at the ten principals as kind of a body or work, and civic responsibility weighs in there heavily.”
A decision as to whether the event will go ahead is expected at the end of this month; if it were to get the green light, attendance would be reduced significantly by around 11,000 to 69,000 people.
Image Credit: Tribal Reunion
