Maindron's half-scale Eiffel Tower at Burning Man

Philippe Maindron’s “Eiffela Broken Dream” arrived at Burning Man this week as one of the most visible large-scale artworks in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Burning Man’s 2026 art listings identify the piece by Maindron, from La Gaubretière, France, as “EIFFELA BROKEN DREAM,” and describe it as a metal representation of the Eiffel Tower. France 24 reported on September 2 that the French artist had taken the work — described there as the “Broken Eiffel Tower” — to the United States after dismantling it piece by piece and shipping it from the port of Le Havre before rebuilding it at Burning Man. The broadcaster said the structure weighed 26 metric tons. ### How big is the piece, exactly? (burningman.org) Burning Man’s own 2026 art listing describes the work as “similar to the one created for the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, at a 1:10 scale.” That wording differs from outside accounts that have described it as “half-scale,” but the official event listing confirms the installation’s identity, artist and placement in the 2026 art program. (france24.com) Famous Campaigns reported on September 2 that the sculpture was a roughly 30-tonne Eiffel Tower shown collapsed in two. France 24, in a separate video report published September 2, put the weight at 26 metric tons. ### Where did Maindron send it from? France 24 said the structure was shipped from Le Havre after being dismantled piece by piece. (burningman.org) Famous Campaigns said the work made a 15,000-kilometer sea-and-desert journey from the Vendée before reaching Nevada. A France 24 report published September 1 said the broken Eiffel Tower had already been seen on France’s Atlantic coast before changing setting for Burning Man, where it would become one of the French attractions at the event. (famouscampaigns.com) That report identified Maindron as an artist from the Vendée. (france24.com) ### How long did it take, and who paid for it? Famous Campaigns reported that Maindron spent two years realizing the project and put in about 300,000 euros of his own money. The same report said the work had been chosen from 500 proposals. Reuters could not independently verify those figures from Burning Man’s own listing, which does not include budget or selection-pool details. (france24.com) Burning Man’s March announcement of its 2026 honoraria program said one persistent myth was that the Burning Man Project only funds big art, but the organization did not name Maindron’s piece in the excerpt surfaced by search results. The broader 2026 art listings page does include “EIFFELA BROKEN DREAM” among works scheduled for Black Rock City. (famouscampaigns.com) ### Why are some descriptions inconsistent? Burning Man’s official listing and media reports do not match on scale and weight. The event listing says the work is at 1:10 scale, while outside reports have called it half-scale; France 24 reported 26 metric tons, while Famous Campaigns said about 30 tonnes. Those discrepancies leave the clearest verified core facts as these: Philippe Maindron is the artist, “EIFFELA BROKEN DREAM” appears in Burning Man’s 2026 art listings, and France 24 reported the work was shipped from Le Havre and reconstructed in Nevada for this year’s event. (journal.burningman.org) ### What comes next for people trying to track the installation? Burning Man’s 2026 art listings page remains the main official public record for the piece inside Black Rock City. (burningman.org) The event’s live dashboard said on September 2 that “The Man burns in 3 days,” placing Maindron’s installation in the final stretch of Burning Man’s 2026 run.