The outbreak of Coronavirus has affected one of the spring’s major music events in America, with the City of Austin now revealing that the 2020 edition of the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival will be cancelled.
Many had hoped that the event would continue on as planned, but as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and Apple pulled out of the festival earlier in the week and Ozzy Osbourne, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross backed out of major events over the last day, the decision to call off South by Southwest was made.
An official statement on the manner can be read below:
The City of Austin has cancelled 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.
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We understand the gravity of the situation for all the creatives who utilize SXSW to accelerate their careers; for the global businesses; and for Austin and the hundreds of small businesses – venues, theatres, vendors, production companies, service industry staff, and other partners that rely so heavily on the increased business that SXSW attracts.
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.
This follows a plethora of cancellations over the last few weeks, including tours from Slipknot, Green Day, Trivium and more.
For additional information on the Coronavirus, check out the CDC website.
According to sources, the ‘order of public authority’ clause in insurance and ticketing have absolved SXSW of all refunds. We will continue to report on this story as it progresses.
