Burning Man 1997: An ABC Nightline Investigation gives an inside look at what the annual Burning Man festival was like in '97, when it was just a little over a decade old. One dude in the video says that Burning Man is the "last cool thing" left to do, and another festival goer calls it a wonderful celebration of creativity. The video features conversations with many people at the event, footage of people making art together in the desert, such as a giant sculpture made from animal bones, people's wild costumes, and much more. I've actually never been to Burning Man myself, and this video makes me wonder if I missed out on its hey-day.
Burning Man, referred to as a "Proto-apocalyptic, hippie, neo-pagan freak fest" in this television program, has changed quite a bit since this video was made. You can check out this Burning Man Timeline to read an overview of each year's festival, see how tall the "burning man" was that year, and learn about how the festival has progressed over time. In '97, there were 10,000 people at the festival. This number increased a lot over the years, and In 2019, there were 78,850 people who showed up.
From Youtube:
"In 1997 ABC Nightlight came out to report on Burning Man during a year that was a turning point for the event and the Burning Man organization. For a deeper look at the history of Burning Man check out the Burning Man Timeline: http://burningman.org/timeline"
