Burning Man is leaning into a less-is-more ethos this year.

The official 2025 guide urges participants to eschew “competitive camping” and “the pressure to outdo” at the weeklong art-and-culture gathering in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

The dialing-back is part of the organizers’ ongoing response to the event’s social-media-fueled pre-pandemic boom. Around the time participation peaked, with 78,850 participants in 2019, there was a concerted push to bring Burning Man back to core principles including the no-spectators edict.

Last year, for the first time since 2011, the event didn’t sell all its tickets.

This year’s theme is “Tomorrow Today,” described as a hopeful World’s Fair vibe of sharing and innovation. Gates opened Sunday, Aug. 24; the event ends at 6 p.m. on Labor Day, Sept.

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