The Evolution of Burning Man

The Reno Gazette-Journal has an interesting timeline chronicling some interesting facts across the evolution of Burning Man from its beginning in 1986 to today.

It's pretty incredible to see the growth and to think about the challenges the organization has faced attempting to grow what was basically a group of friends throwing a non-conformist beach party into a city that gets together for 8 days every year and then disappears, without a trace.

Some highlights:

• 1986 (first year) - On Baker Beach. 35 people in attendance. The Man was 8 feet high.
  
• 1987 - Larry Harvey and friend James hand out flyers stating "join us at the northern naked end of Baker Beach on Saturday, June 20" for the second annual burn. Attendance: 80. Man's height: 15 feet.
  
• 1988 - Larry Harvey names the man 'Burning Man.' Attendance: 200. Man's height: 30 feet.
• 1989 - Park police arrive. Wonder who is in charge. Tv stations demonstrate inffectual attempt to stop the proceedings. Attendance: 300. Man's height: 40 feet.
• 1990 - 800 people attend the erecting of the Man on Baker Beach. It is moved to the Black Rock Desert to be Burned. Only about 90 people attend. Man's height: 
• 1991 - First year the full event is held in the BRD. Attendance: 250. 
• 1992 - Black Rock Rangers in effect for the first time. Attendance: 600. 
• 1994 - First time admission is charged. $30. Attendance: 2,000.
• 1995 - Burning Man becomes the most populated settlement (even if temporary) in Pershing County, NV. Admission: $35. Attendance: 4,000.
• 1996 - Attendance: 8,000. Infrastructure begins to get strained.
• 1997 - Burning Man moves to private land. Admission: $50 and $65. Attendance: 10,000.
• 1998 - It moves back to the Black Rock Desert. Admission: $65, $80, or $100. Attendance: 15,000. Streets are now numbered and streets signs are on every corner.
• 1999 - First year the Man burned on Saturday night instead of Sunday, to allow people more time to clean up and leave no trace. Attendance: 23,000
• 2000 - Ticket prices rise to $200. Attendance: 25,400.
• 2002 - Counterfeiting had become a problem, and the new ticket vendor introduced foil-stamping onto the tickets to combat it. Attendance: 28,979.
• 2003 - Dogs have to stay at home for the first time. Attendance: 30,586.
• 2004 - Larry Harvey writes the 10 Principles, drawing them from widely-accepted practices within the BM community. Attendance: 35,664.
• 2006 - A delegation of officials form the Dept of the Interior and the BLM visit Burning Man to observe the largest Special Recreation Permit in the US. Attendance: 38,989.
• 2007 - Paul Addis, a disgruntled (and some would argue highly-principled) Burner set fire to the Man as a prank, burning it down days ahead of time. He was charged with a felony, and later committed suicide by jumping in front of a BART train. Attendance: 47,097
•  2009 - The first time Burning Man ever saw a population drop, likely due to the economic crisis at the time. Attendance: 43,558.
• 2010 - Attendance is back up at 51,525.
• 2011 - For the first time ever, Burning Man sells out, having sold as many tickets as its permit from the Bureau of Land Management allows. Attendance: 53,963.
• 2012 - Burning Man tries a lottery for tickets to try and deal with the excess demand. It does not go well. Tickets are now between $240 and $420. Attendance: 56,149.
• 2013 - BM sells out for the third year in a row and grows dramatically again. Admission: $380. Attendance: 69,613. Traffic rears its ugly head as the biggest barrier to growth.
• 2014 - Vehicle passes introduced for the first time, at $40/vehicle. Attendance: 65,992. The Man's height: 105 feet.

It's going to be interesting to see where it heads from here. The fundamental factor limiting a bigger Burning Man population is the two-lane highway leading to it, and there's no world in which it's worth widening a highway-to-nowhere just so an extra few tens of thousands of people can go party in the desert for a week.

Scarcity is going to be the new normal for Burning Man.