Amid growing concerns over the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Austin’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival has joined the list of global events that have been canceled.
SXSW is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences, which takes place in mid-March in Austin.
On Friday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced that the 10-day festival, which was set to begin from March 13 to March 22, has been canceled due to the spread of the coronavirus, aka COVID-19.
Adler told reporters, “I’ve gone ahead and declared a local disaster in the city, and associated with that I have issued an order that cancels South by Southwest this year.”
“There is no emergency in our city today other than the exigency of being concerned and being prepared,” Adler added.
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said, “This is a medical and data-driven decision.”
Mark Escott, health authority for Austin Public Health, assured people that there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Travis County and that “now is not the time to panic.”
Fear of the coronavirus spread has caused high-profile celebrities, companies, sponsors, and events to cancel. Many social media platforms have reportedly pulled out from taking part in the event.
After the mayor’s announcement, the SXSW press team released a statement, “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 doing our part to help protect our staff, attendees, and fellow Austinites,” according to the statement.
The team added, “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 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.” It looks like SXSW officials might have to refund its participants, which could cause a financial blow to organizers.
