Black Rock City, NV, September 19, 2025 – Burning Man 2025 embodied its “Tomorrow Today” theme as 70,000 participants built a temporary metropolis devoted to creativity and collaboration. Belong provided free platform infrastructure for BurnerMap, the community-built navigation tool used by thousands of Burners to coordinate across Black Rock City’s seven‑square‑mile expanse, including 2,839+ placed theme camps and 7620+ events.762.
Why this mattered in 2025
“Tomorrow Today” is more than a slogan—it’s a blueprint for incremental, real‑world progress. Belong’s contribution was practical and specific: reliable infrastructure for a volunteer‑run platform so participants could find each other, find events, and move through the city without adding commercial friction or surveillance burden.
What the tech actually delivered on-playa
Offline‑first maps & schedules. Participants downloaded maps and event listings ahead of time for full functionality with no connectivity on the playa.
Privacy by design. No real‑time tracking and no data monetization—supporting personal autonomy and Burning Man’s decommodification principle.
Faster event discovery without “editorial curation.” The BurnerMap team helped get last‑minute events added so they could be discovered in‑app. They didn’t curate programming; they enabled it to be found.
Works everywhere. A single experience across iOS, Android, and the web—no juggling multiple apps—designed to endure dust, heat, and intermittent power.
Resilience when things got rough
When desert winds hit 50 mph during opening weekend, the city adapted. The Temple of the Deep—by Spanish architect Miguel Arraiz, the event’s first Spanish Temple artist—stood resilient at 44 feet. Digital tools like BurnerMap helped participants coordinate meetups and navigate changing plans when traditional communication struggled.
Scale and stewardship
Since 2011, BurnerMap has served over 120,000 unique users and enabled more than 100,000 custom maps. Belong’s decision to provide its enterprise‑grade platform free of charge lets the BurnerMap team focus on serving Burners while Belong handles the infrastructure behind the scenes.
Beyond Black Rock City
The culture doesn’t stop at Gerlach. Regional events now serve over 100,000 participants worldwide each year, and the need for dependable, non‑extractive infrastructure keeps growing. Belong has already supported a number of regional events grounded in Burning Man principles—partnering with local organizers to enable discovery and coordination while respecting community norms. Belong’s whitelabel platform makes proven features—like structured discovery, location‑aware activations, and analytics—available to community organizers without forcing a one‑size‑fits‑all business model. Each event retains its own character and economics.
What’s next
Belong is continuing work on Telegram and WhatsApp integrations, improved discovery, and tooling that bridges digital coordination with physical spaces (including smart‑lock integrations for temporary venues). Qualifying non‑profits can access the platform at no cost.
About Belong
Belong provides free whitelabel community platforms to qualifying non‑profits and community initiatives, supporting festivals, gatherings, and movements worldwide through accessible technology infrastructure. Learn more at belong.net/nonprofits.