One city in March, a badge that opens most of it, and more programming than anyone can cover
South by Southwest is an annual conference and festival held every March in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1987, it programmes across technology, film and television, music, education, culture, and gaming, combining keynote and featured sessions with exhibitions, screenings, music showcases, and a very large amount of unscheduled networking, across venues throughout the city.
It has grown into a family of events. The parent company also runs SXSW EDU and SXSW London, co-runs North by Northeast in Toronto, and has previously operated a series of regional offshoots. The technology strand, now SXSW Innovation and formerly the Interactive Conference, focuses on emerging technology and carries a trade show, a speaker programme, and a startup accelerator. By March 2013 the film and interactive events alone were bringing more than 32,000 registrants to the city.
The scale is the problem. SXSW is not a conference with a fringe; it is several conferences and several festivals running simultaneously, with official sessions, unofficial events, brand activations, and music showcases competing for the same hours. A first-time attendee with a full badge and no plan will see very little of consequence.
The people who get value from it work backwards. They decide which strand they are there for — technology, film, music or education — identify the eight or ten sessions and the twenty people who justify the trip, and treat everything else as optional. Austin is walkable in the centre but the venues spread further than the map suggests, and a day lost to transit is a day gone.
SXSW London is the first European iteration of the festival. It was inaugurated in 2025, is hosted across the Shoreditch and Hoxton areas of London, and launched with a specific emphasis on artificial intelligence. Its programming follows the Austin model — live music, keynotes, panels, and associated events — on a scale suited to a first edition rather than a fortieth.
For clients based in Europe, that changes the calculation considerably. Austin in March is a long trip for a week that requires careful management to justify. London is a short one, the strand mix is narrower and more technology-weighted, and the venues sit in a part of the city that already works for this kind of event. We would advise anyone curious about the format to try the London edition before committing to Texas.
Tell us which strand you are there for and we will arrange the week around it
The great majority of our work around this event is corporate, and it runs through our Business Concierge team — delegation logistics, client hosting, meeting programmes, and activation support rather than badges alone. For the London edition the same team handles venues and hosting on considerably shorter notice.
The host city is a substantial part of the argument. Austin in March is warm without being difficult, the live music scene that gave the festival its reason for existing operates year-round, and the food — particularly the barbecue tradition of central Texas — is worth the trip on its own terms.
The Hill Country begins half an hour west of the city, which gives an easy day out when the downtown crowds become too much, and there are properties within an hour that make a far better base than a conference hotel for anyone travelling with family or wanting space to host.
One practical point on timing. The programme is published strand by strand, and the days you need depend entirely on which one you are coming for. Settling that question before booking flights or accommodation is the single most useful decision in planning the trip, and it is the one most people leave until last.
Every March, in Austin, Texas
Technology, film and television, music, education, culture and gaming, across sessions, screenings, showcases, and exhibitions
In 1987. It has grown into a family of events with editions and offshoots in other cities
Yes. SXSW London was inaugurated in 2025 in Shoreditch and Hoxton, with a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence
For the official programme, yes, and the badge type determines what you can attend. A great deal happens around the edges without one
A year for Austin accommodation. Meetings and hosting should be fixed a few months out
The 2027 festival is expected to run for just over a week in mid-March, as in previous years.
The SXSW Austin March dates typically span nine to ten days across film, music, and interactive tracks.
An SXSW badge grants access to keynotes, showcases, and the trade show, with platinum badges covering every track.
The South by Southwest schedule runs across dozens of venues simultaneously, so most attendees plan routes in advance using the official app.
The one week a year when technology, film, and music are all in the same city, arguing
