SXSW Is No Longer Happening Due to the Coronavirus

SXSW is no longer happening this year.

The city of Austin, Texas has canceled SXSW this year. The organizers stated that this is the first time in 34 years that the event will not take place. Those behind the SXSW have stated that the decision was from the city of Austin, and was not theirs. You can read the statement from the organizers of SXSW below:

“The City of Austin has canceled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU. SXSW will faithfully follow the City’s directions.

“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. We are committed to do our part to help protect our staff, attendees, and fellow Austinites.

“We are exploring options to reschedule the event and are working to provide a virtual SXSW online experience as soon as possible for 2020 participants, starting with SXSW EDU. For our registrants, clients, and participants we will be in touch as soon as possible and will publish an FAQ.

“…We will continue to work hard to bring you the unique events you love. Though it’s true that our March 2020 event will no longer take place in the way that we intended, we continue to strive toward our purpose – helping creative people achieve their goals.”

SXSW is not the only event that has been affected by the rapidly growing virus. Last month’s PAX East saw a good number of developers drop out of the event, including Sony and Capcom. The Game Developers Conference was postponed until further notice after companies such as Sony, Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, and EA decided that they would not attend the event due to concern over the coronavirus.

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