SXSW London: The Iconic U.S. Festival Arrives in Europe

London has been chosen as the location for the European adaptation of SXSW, the American festival based in Austin since 1987. Originally launched as a music festival, where, for instance, Billie Eilish first performed and James Blunt and John Mayer got discovered, over time SXSW has grown into a diverse event featuring film, interactive media, and other creative industries, held each March.

The heart of SXSW London is Shoreditch, a neighborhood known for its rich artistic and cultural heritage, featuring over 25 venues including the Truman Brewery and Shoreditch Town Hall. The festival is running from 2 to 7 June.

This first edition boasts already over 400 conferences. Among the most famous speakers, actor Idris Elba and former Prime Minister David Cameron. Aside from the talks, SXSW London also offers a Music Festival and a Screen Festival section, which includes shorts, series and films. An XR and immersive section is also present. In the latter, there are five strands: the Competition, Heartwarmers (“A celebration of festival favourites, crowd-pleasers and joyful films”), Visionaries (“Portraits of and work by artists, technologists and future-thinkers that are shaping film storytelling”), Shivers (“Films living in the realm of the eerie, the uncanny and the weird”) and Collisions (“Stories that open our eyes, create and push conversation forward”). Several world premieres await the audience, as well as a considerable number of UK premieres, which include The Life of Chuck, a sci-fi drama based on a Stephen King novella, directed by Mike Flanagan (present at the festival to deliver a keynote on the final day), with Tom Hiddleston as lead. Stans, directed by Steve Leckart and centered on Eminem‘s fanbase, is also very awaited.

According to Billboard, the organizers have disclosed that the festival is set to generate more than £75 million (around €87 million). The estimated number of people involved with the festival this week is roughly 20,000.