No glitter, an 8-hour traffic jam and... chemical burns: What actually is Burning Man?

Once a year, tens of thousands of people gather in Nevada's Black Rock Desert to create a city. And nine days later, that city disappears.

After a two-year hiatus, Burning Man returned for 2022.

Wrapping earlier this week, the nine-day event saw celebrities, regular 'Burners' and first-timers descend to the desert to celebrate art, creativity and free expression.

Under a sweltering sun and over freezing nights, there were wild costumes, art installations, musical performances, and lots of partying.

But what actually is Burning Man? And how does it differ from other festivals?

Here's everything you need to know.

What is Burning Man?

Burning Man was founded in 1986. The first iteration included less than 20 friends who built an 2.4 metre man out of scrap wood and lit it on fire on a beach in San Francisco. 

Now over 20 years later, around 80,000 people ('Burners') attended Burning Man 2022: Walking Dreams. The event runs just over a week and always ends with the burning of 'the Man'.

Unlike festivals you attend where everything is provided for you, volunteers build, run and remove all traces of the week's festivities. 

Burners have access to an ice store, portable toilets, medical and emergency services, sanitation station and fuel supply, but the rest is up to them.

They themselves provide concerts, theatre, bars, art exhibitions, group meals, drum circles, even sex clubs on the grounds known as the Playa. 

Cars aren't allowed to drive on the Playa unless authorised by the city, and there can be no fires directly on the ground as they will leave burn marks and defy one of Burning Man's core principles: "leave no trace".

How much does Burning Man cost?

Tickets sold out for 2022 within an hour of them going on sale. They cost a cool $575 USD.

After attending this year, Australian TikToker @marierekowski shared exactly how much the event cost her coming from Brisbane.

In a video, she explained that her flights cost $2,200 return, their RV cost $3,000 (including an extra $1,000 for necessary cleaning after Burning Man), and the ticket itself cost $1,000.

As tickets sell out fast, most people source them from attendees who can no longer go, making them more expensive.

Her bike - her mode of transport for the week - cost $250, and groceries were $350. 

And because of the "leave no trace" policy, feathers and glitter are a big no-no.

While your feather boa and sparkly hair may look cool, feathers and glitter are two of the hardest things to clean up and remove.

Oh, and it's a massive journey to get there and back.

According to reports, the traffic jam at the end of Burning Man was so bad that cars were stuck at stand-still for up to eight hours.

"We vastly underestimated the time it takes to leave Playa," TikToker @cecexie said.

"Our entire drive home was 13 hours and half of that time, six and a half hours, was just in line to leave Black Rock City in the desert."

@cecexie better planning next year 😭 at least i didn’t get pinkeye this year!! #burningman ♬ original sound - cece

But don't let all that deter you.

If you watch any of the hundreds of videos of people sharing their experiences at Burning Man, the event sounds, quite literally, life changing.

There will be highs and lows, but you'll probably have the time of your life. There's a reason people keep going back!

Feature image: Instagram/@parishilton