South by Southwest London (SXSW London) is a music, film, and tech festival hosted in Shoreditch and Hoxton of London, England.[1] Its programming includes live music, keynote speeches, panel discussions, and other kinds of events.[2]
SXSW first began in Austin, Texas in 1987 as a multimedia festival with music, film, and tech programming.[4] Since then, the festival has been restructured and managed by the Penske Media Corporation, with festival offshoots, like SXSW Sydney, being operated in order to help "the bottom line" following financial difficulties during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][5]
SXSW executive vice president Darin Klein stated that "The U.K. has a huge creator economy" as a reason for expanding the festival to London.[1] The first SXSW London festival was launched in 2025 and was scheduled to run from June 2–7.[2] On the first day, London mayor Sadiq Khan delivered a kickoff speech, and guest speakers included Demis Hassabis, Beeple, Katherine Ryan, Peter Kyle, Dan Clancy, and Tony Blair.[6][1][2] Films, such as the Eminem documentary Stans, were due to premiere at the Barbican Centre. Musical acts like Tems, Alice Glass, and Mabel headlined the music program.[2][5] Over 25 venues across East London, with hundreds of events total, were tapped for festival programming.[7]
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