The inaugural SXSW London, which will take place across at least 20 venues in the Shoreditch area of east London, has set 2025 dates of June 2 – 7.
The London spinoff will mark the first European edition of the celebrated Austin festival, which has also launched in Sydney, Australia. Organizers say they expect to attract 20,000 attendees to the cross-cultural London offshoot, which will feature tech, music, screen and general arts programming.
UK artists are being encouraged to submit their ideas and work for consideration for the SXSW programming team via a platform to be launched in the fall. Organisers also plan to offer a skills development programme after the event.
The festival has recently made a raft of senior hires. Anna Bogutskaya is joining as Head of Screen having worked at BFI, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, El Deseo, and Underwire Festival. Meanwhile, Beth Greenacre is joining as Visual Arts Advisor, having previously served as curator of the David Bowie collection and with the artist co-curated numerous exhibitions including Sound and Vision as part of Bowie’s Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall in 2002.
Clare Morris, former Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity marketing lead, is joining SXSW London in September as Director of Marketing and Communications.
Randel Bryan, SXSW London’s Managing Director said: “A shorter date format relative to SXSW in Austin will allow SXSW London to run its conference, music, screen and arts programmes at the same time, ensuring accessibility to multiple programming formats and diverse networking opportunities for attendees from different industries. Bringing SXSW to the streets of Shoreditch will allow us to create a festival like no other, one that unfolds across incredible indoor spaces whilst also showcasing creativity and artistic experiences in unique public spaces, allowing us to capture the energy and excitement of the summer.”
The U.S. home of SXSW will run in Austin, Texas, between March 10-15.
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