SXSW has announced its first edition in London set for 2025. See dates below.
SXSW, also known as South by Southwest, marks its latest overseas venture after last year’s Sydney debut – and its first time in Europe. The festival-conference will take place from June 2 to 7 next year within the Shoreditch neighbourhood.
Per Billboard, the festival is set to generate more than £75million (roughly US$97million) for the UK economy and attract over 20,000 attendees, according to its organisers.
SXSW London’s head of music Adem Holness promises big things for its inaugural edition, aiming for a seamless cross-pollination between the SXSW touchpoints of music, film and technology.
“The thing we can do uniquely is pull together reflections of the cutting-edge, grassroots music communities and – if I’m just thinking about the music program – how people can get involved in what is happening at the cutting edge and how they might be able to work with those different international music scenes to develop them and develop ideas with them,” Holness tells Billboard. “That’s what I think SXSW London should be.”
He adds that he wants SXSW London to not “just feel like a series of performances, but like you’re experiencing culture and [moments] around that”.
SXSW London aims to be a hub for broader European perspectives, Holness explains. He wants it to “make sure our neighbours and friends feel like they’re a big part of what we’re trying to do”.
Its Shoreditch location was selected because it “feels in a way like a microcosm of what London is”, Holness adds. “It’s a hub of technology, but you’ve also got incredible nightlife. You’ve got distinct diasporic communities in and around that area and obviously the whole of London. But I think [Shoreditch provides] a great opportunity for people who might not have been to London before to understand who we are and what we’re about.”
SXSW’s primary edition in Austin, Texas will take place from March 7 to 15 next year. Its 2024 edition was rife with controversy – dozens of artists and panellists pulled out from its line-up in solidarity with Palestine after it was discovered that the festival’s “super sponsor” was the US Army.
“To be clear, we as Music From Ireland bands are not partaking in any official SXSW shows. We stand in complete solidarity with Palestine and others who have spoken out against and boycotted SXSW,” Gurriers’ Pierce Callaghan said in a statement he delivered live alongside other Music From Ireland artists at SXSW.
In June, SXSW announced that it dropped the US Army as its sponsor. “We are an organisation that welcomes diverse viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech,” its statement read.
Onsite at SXSW 2024, NME’s Sophie Williams wrote: “There is power to be found in how this past week has felt like a key moment for emerging artists to come together and collectively use their power for good. Dotted around downtown Austin’s many basement venues, there were displays of activism and quiet ambition to be found if you looked beyond the big, corporate, branded events; a small glimmer of hope amongst all the noise.”
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