After almost 40 years, South by Southwest (SXSW) will finally head to the UK in 2025, with a new London edition of the famed festival and conference. The festival, which traditionally takes the form of a series of loosely connected conferences, events, showcases and more covering film, interactive media, music and art, is based in Austin, Texas. The London event will take place across multiple venues, galleries and nightclubs in Shoreditch, East London, in June 2025. This announcement follows the launch of its first international festival in Australia, SXSW Sydney, which will have its second event from October 14 to October 20.
This year’s Austin SXSW event drew controversy as more than 100 artists, groups and musical acts withdrew from the festival over its sponsors which included the US Army and several weapons manufacturers linked to the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). Artists involved in the boycott included the rock duo, Lambrini Girls, Squirrel Flower and Kneecap. Kneecap cancelled all their shows at the festival, stating in a release that they were doing so to “highlight the unacceptable deep links the festival has to weapons companies and the U.S. military who at this very moment are enabling a genocide and famine against a trapped population.”
The festival also faced criticism during its 2023 edition due to the low rates paid to performers and its additional “application fees” which many campaigners labelled a “pay to play” scheme. In response, more than 120 musicians signed an open letter to SXSW in conjunction with the Union Of Musicians And Allied Workers (UMAW). The year after, Texas Public Radio announced an increase in wages for 2024 due to the intervention of performing musicians and the Austin City Council.
Applications to this year’s SXSW saw an increase in the pay for solo artists from $100 to $150 and from $250 to $350 for bands, though the original open letter in February 2023 had implored SXSW to pay rates of at least $750 per act. More details about the SXSW London 2025 event will be announced in the coming months.
Becky Buckle is the Multimedia Editor of Mixmag. Follow her on Twitter
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