In Historic Move, SXSW Is Cancelled And The Creative Community Is Devastated

March 6, 2020: City of Austin Cancels SXSW March Events

The City of Austin has spoken–for the first time in its 34 years SXSW will not take place during March because of Covid-19 coronavirus fears. The City of Austin has cancelled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU.

SXSW is a massive tech conference and entertainment festival attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees every year.

SXSW Is A Boost To The Local Economy

The massive festival a huge boost to the local economy injecting hundreds of millions into the local economy.

Many restaurants, bars, and venues rely financially on the South by Southwest (SXSW) event. According to a report, 2019 alone had a $355.9 million impact on the local economy.

SXSW is known to catapult the careers of musicians and start-ups.

In fact, you probably have heard of several tech companies that accelerated their companies at SXSW: Twitter (2007), Foursquare (2009), Gowalla (2009, acquired by Facebook in 2011), GroupMe (2011), and many more.

Entertainers that have performed at SXSW and launched their careers to superstar fandom include Katy Perry, Bon Iver, Hanson, and Amy Winehouse (on this side of the pond at least).

However, on Friday, March 6, Mayor Steve Adler of Austin, Texas, announced that the film, music, and interactive industry conference would be canceled by executive order of the city due to fears about spreading the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Local Disaster Declared for Austin Over Corona Virus Concerns

“Based on the recommendation of our public health officer and our director of public health, and after our consultation with the city manager, I’ve gone ahead and declared a local disaster in the city,” Adler stated at a press conference Friday afternoon. “In association with that, I’ve issued an order that effectively cancels South by Southwest for this year.”

SXSW attracts hundreds of thousands of attendees each year. The cancellation of the conference is a historic event and has left local businesses, creatives, and event organizers feeling, understandably, devastated.

SXSW was slated to run from March 13 through 22.

The executive order, issued by Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, applies countywide and cancels all local public festivals and events. 

The order will last for seven days, with the potential to be renewed as needed.

The Writing Was On The Wall…

SXSW organizers were doing everything they could to keep the annual event continuing as planned. However, by Friday the festival was already shaping up to be nothing as planned.

Fear over coronavirus had already caused several high-profile businesses, sponsors, celebrities, and events to cancel one right after the other.

Starz, Lionsgate, Netflix, Apple, Twitter, Facebook, Intel, Mashable, TikTok, Amazon, Vevo, WarnerMedia, Warner Music Group, SAP, and China Gathering had all reportedly cancelled plans to attend.

SXSW Issues Statement About 2020 Festival Cancellation

In a statement posted on SXSW’s website, festival organizers said they “…are exploring options to reschedule the event and are working to provide a virtual SXSW online experience as soon as possible for 2020 participants, starting with SXSW EDU. For our registrants, clients, and participants we will be in touch as soon as possible and will publish an FAQ.”

The statement released continues, “We understand the gravity of the situation for all the creatives who utilize SXSW to accelerate their careers; for the global businesses; and for Austin and the hundreds of small businesses – venues, theatres, vendors, production companies, service industry staff, and other partners that rely so heavily on the increased business that SXSW attracts.”

“We will continue to work hard to bring you the unique events you love. Though it’s true that our March 2020 event will no longer take place in the way that we intended, we continue to strive toward our purpose – helping creative people achieve their goals.”