SXSW announces London 2025 edition

Austin's South by Southwest convention and festival is heading to the UK, marking the first time the world-renowned event has taken place in Europe.

The inaugural edition of SXSW London will take place over a week in June 2025, will follow the same format as its Texas-based forerunner and will feature “inspiring and provocative” keynotes, musical performances and showcase cutting-edge technology innovations , games and cinema. , the organizers said in their announcement today. Names and details of who will be appearing will be announced in the coming months.

Held annually in the city of Austin since 1987, SXSW has grown into one of the biggest events on the global music calendar, attracting hundreds of thousands of musicians, creatives, filmmakers, media companies and music industry executives to the state of Texas each March. . .

Amy Winehouse, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Wet Leg are just some of the musical artists who played the festival early in their careers.

Previous guest speakers have included Dave Grohl, US President Barack Obama, Steven Spielberg, Michelle Yeoh and the founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerbergwhile Twitter, Foursquare and Airbnb are among the tech start-ups that SXSW famously helped launch.

Next year's SXSW London debut continues the event's global rollout, which began in 2023 with the launch of an Asia Pacific edition in Sydney, Australia.

The second leg of SXSW Sydney will take place October 14-20 with the main SXSW US festival and conference scheduled for March 7-17 in Austin. The addition of a new London edition makes the event series “a must-see three-stop tour for the global creative community,” organizers said in a press release.

Although 2025 will be the first time a SXSW-branded event will be held in Europe, the organization partnered with Mercedes-Benz to host an annual convention, called the Me Convention, between 2017 and 2019 in Germany and Sweden. aimed at the technology, design and creative communities.

“We couldn't be more excited to bring the SXSW experience to London,” said SXSW Co-Chairman and CEO Jan Baskett in a statement. He called next year's planned event “an incredible new opportunity to highlight the elements that make SXSW unique in one of Europe's most vibrant cities.”

Randall BryanCEO of SXSW London, said the festival will “build on Austin's incredible legacy” by providing “a platform for the next generation of creative talent.”

While detailed plans for SXSW London have yet to be announced, organizers have said the event will take place across dozens of venues, art galleries and clubs in East London's Shoreditch area and will have its own “distinct personality”, reflecting the capital's of the United Kingdom. “Internationally renowned cultural life and creativity”.

Alongside the keynotes and music showcases, the conference will feature visual arts, fashion design and programming, with exhibitions and interactive and immersive experiences in public spaces across East London. The city's proximity to other major creative and tech centers in Europe will also shape programming as organizers look to attract creative talent from across the continent.

Commenting on the announcement, the mayor of London Sadiq Khan he called the plans “a historic opportunity” for the city to “bring together the world's most exciting talent again”.

In April 2021, it was announced that SXSW had signed a “lifeline” agreement with P-MRC, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and MRC, making P-MRC a shareholder and long-term partner with the Austin festival. P-MRC is its parent company Advertising sign.