SXSW Announces Digital Experience For March 2021, With Plans In Works For Physical Event

SXSW
 – SXSW

South By Southwest, one of the first major U.S. festivals to call off its 2020 event because of the COVID-19, has announced details for an online edition in March 2021, while leaving open the possibility of a physical event. 

SXSW EDU Online is scheduled March 9-11 and SXSW Online is set for March 16-20, with the digital experience featuring “conference keynotes and sessions, screenings, showcases, networking, and exhibitions.”
The Sept. 22 announcement notes that SXSW “is working with the City of Austin and public health authorities on plans for a physical event in 2021,” with the promise of updates as more information is available.  

South By is mixing up its programming process with the Music Festival lineup curated by programming staff with priority given to presenters and artists booked for the 2020 event, rather than SXSW’s standard showcase application process.  
The SXSW community is encouraged to have a voice in conference programming with PanelPicker, “the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform.” Entries for the 2021 digital experience open Oct. 6 for SXSW and SXSW EDU, as well as Film Festival submissions with a deadline of Oct. 16. The community can “browse proposals, leave comments, and vote to help shape the programming.” 

The 2020 edition of South by Southwest was canceled March 6, just a week before SXSW was scheduled to begin March 13, and 10 days before the Texas event’s music portion was set to begin March 16. The cancellation capped a busy week where brewing coronavirus concerns had spread to the North American live events industry. Major brands including Twitter, Facebook, Apple and Netflix had already pulled out of the event prior to Friday, even as industry professionals have urged caution.

Ultra Music Festival’s flagship Miami event was also called off March 6.

Days after announcing that the 2020 edition of South By Southwest was canceled because of coronavirus, the Austin music community suffered another blow with the news that SXSW had laid off about a third of its full-time staff. The layoffs affected around 50 employees, including both veteran staffers who had been working for the festival for over a decade and others who had been with SouthBy for months,  according to the Austin Chronicle.  

Learn more at SXSW.com.