SXSW or South by Southwest, an annual entertainment, music and technology festival which takes place in Texas, Austin has been officially cancelled due to fears regarding coronavirus outbreak. This is the first time in 34 years that March event will be cancelled.
SXSW was scheduled to kick off next week.
SXSW is said to bring more than 250,000 people to the Austin area annually and $350 million in revenue, Los Angeles Times reported.
An Update on SXSW 2020. Please read our full statement here: https://t.co/P56nF8KFmE pic.twitter.com/ouJPKM9GNy
— SXSW (@sxsw) March 6, 2020
What the statement says
The organisers in a tweet shared the statement. The statement read "The City of Austin has cancelled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU. SXSW will faithfully follow the City's directions"
It further said 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.
We are committed to doing our part to help protect our staff, attendees, and fellow Austinites ended the organisers.
Interestingly, before the official cancellation, an online petition at Change.org asking conference organizers to cancel the conference, calling proceeding with plans irresponsible had received more than 40,000 signatures, CNBC said.
Kumail Nanjiani, whose film "The Lovebirds" had been scheduled to screen at the festival, had already announced he would not be attending the event and praised the move as the responsible thing to do.
Sxsw is one of my favorite festivals. Canceling it was the responsible thing to go. I know this sucks for many people for whom this was a massive opportunity. But we’re kind of in an unprecedented situation here and caution is key. Thank you for the making the right decision.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) March 6, 2020
The tech-focused Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok were among the first companies to exit SXSW, as organizations began instituting measures like restricting non-essential travel to protect employees from potential exposure.
More than 200 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the US in 18 states, killing 11, according to the US. Centers for Disease Control.
