South by Southwest (SXSW) has revealed it will no longer go ahead with its Sydney festival.
SXSW revealed on Wednesday the decision to wrap up the arts festival — which had been held in October between 2023 and 2025 — was due to a “changing global environment” impacting live events.
“SXSW Sydney worked closely with the NSW Government and SXSW’s global owners Penske Media Corporation to explore potential pathways forward for the event,” SXSW said.
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“However, prevailing market conditions mean the Sydney edition will not be going ahead at this time.”
The festival had generated about $276 million during its three-year run.
The final SXSW Sydney attracted more than 345,000 attendees across 1600 events, including more than 400 conferences, 300 music performances and 150 “professional development sessions”.
“SXSW Sydney would not have been possible without our partners, Destination NSW and SXSW, as well as those who contributed to the event — our speakers, sponsors, volunteers and attendees,” co-managing directors Simon Cahill and Jono Whyman said.
“SXSW Sydney was an unforgettable three-year journey, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the people who joined us for it.
“We are especially grateful to the SXSW Sydney team for their dedication and hard work in bringing this event to life and establishing a platform that showcased Australia and the Asia-Pacific as pioneers in global culture.”
SXSW director Jenny Connelly said the festival represented an “ambitious and meaningful extension” of SXSW into Australia.
“We are incredibly proud of what was built in partnership with the Sydney team, Destination NSW, and the broader creative community,” Connelly said.
“Over three years, SXSW Sydney demonstrated the power of convening global innovators, creatives, and leaders, and created a platform that elevated voices from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region onto the world stage.
“While the event will not proceed in 2026, we are grateful for the collaboration, creativity and commitment that defined SXSW Sydney.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source 7news.com.au ’
