The South by Southwest music, film and tech festival was set to begin on March 13 in Austin, Texas. On March 6, days after companies such as Apple, Netflix, Twitter, Facebook, Vevo, Mashable and WarnerMedia pulled out of the 2020 event, organizers and the city announced its cancellation, adding that it could be rescheduled.
“The City of Austin has cancelled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU. SXSW will faithfully follow the City’s directions,” read a statement on the event’s website. “We are devastated to share this news with you. ‘The show must go on’ is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation.”
“As recently as Wednesday, Austin Public Health stated that ‘there’s no evidence that closing SXSW or any other gatherings will make the community safer.’ However, this situation evolved rapidly, and we honor and respect the City of Austin’s decision,” the statement said. “We are committed to do our part to help protect our staff, attendees, and fellow Austinites.”