Turning our SX compass south of the equator, creatives from across the Asia-Pacific region are gearing up for another epic convergence of Tech & Innovation, Screen, Music, and Gaming at SXSW Sydney 2024.

Since 1987, SXSW has been a hub of creativity, fueling endless conversations and collaborations beyond the March event. This October 14-20, Sydney takes the baton, bringing together global leaders and innovators in a city where stunning natural beauty meets a vibrant creative scene. With the motto "The future belongs to the curious," SXSW Sydney is set to ignite imagination and inspiration from the harbor to every corner of this Southern Hemisphere hotspot. From sounds to screens and beyond, let's dive into the latest SXSW Sydney 2024 updates!

The SXSW Sydney Conference announced their first Keynotes, Johann Hari, best-selling author of Magic Pill and Stolen Focus, and human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, known for her work with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. Newly announced speakers include booking legends Marty Diamond and Larry Webman (Wasserman), A&R manager Samantha Urbani (Secretly Group), iconic Indian composer and musician A.R. Rahman, Singaporean entrepreneur Min-Liang Tan, and more.

Amping up the SXSW Sydney Music Festival, an already stellar lineup just got bigger with electronic Sydney duo 2touch, Mick Jenkins collaborator Heno. (USA), Anthony Fantano co-signed dogworld (VIC), indie rockers GIMMY (NSW), reggae masters Kurilpa Reach (QLD), recently-minted platinum "synth freak" Touch Sensitive (LA via NSW), and many more. Expand your playlist queue by adding these 40+ artists including Grammy-nominated and platinum-selling UK sensation Jorja Smith.

Casting a light on the cinematic scene, the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival revealed program additions including a live commentary from director Warwick Thornton (The New Boy, Samson and Delilah), composer Jed Kurzel (The Babadook), a Q&A with Josey McNamara on Saltburn, and insights from Pixar’s Mark Andrews on his upcoming projects. Leveling up the SXSW Sydney Games Festival, 60 new games round out its 2024 program.

Before you head Down Under, stay up-to-date with the latest event news at sxswsydney.com and explore programming standouts set to take the SXSW Sydney 2024 stage.

Attend SXSW Sydney 2024

Get ready to rock, reel, and innovate this October 14-20! Don't miss this week-long celebration with SX creatives in Sydney, Australia.

Register to attend SXSW Sydney 2024 at a special badge rate available through Friday, August 30 to save up to $400. Secure your Sydney spot at sxswsydney.com.

SXSW Sydney 2024

SXSW Sydney 2023 – Photos by Katje Ford and Jordan Kirk

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Last year, SXSW Sydney brought forth some of the world’s leading thinkers, performers, and industry professionals for a ground-breaking inaugural 2023 event in Sydney, Australia. Returning this October 14–20, SXSW Sydney has announced its initial round of 2024 programming, including speakers, short films, artists, and games, along with an exclusive Early Bird badge rate available through May 16.

Get a first look at the SXSW Sydney Conference speaker lineup, featuring Australia's newest astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg; global Head of Business Marketing at TikTok, Sofia Hernandez; award-winning Australian filmmaker and director of Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat 2, Simon McQuoid; and many more. Across 23 tracks of programming, sessions will explore AI & Robotics, Future of Work, the Creator Economy, and Food, amongst others.

The SXSW Sydney Screen Festival slate spans feature films, shorts, TV premieres, music videos, and XR. Already on the program are four initial short films including Wendi Tang's Fishtank (US/China).

Amping up the SXSW Sydney Music Festival sound, get to know the first wave of artists like Sydney-based, genre-defying instrumentalist Joel Sunny; Melbourne post-punk duo HighSchool; Seoul electronic artist-on-the-rise 404; and Colombian psychedelic rock trio BALTHVS, to name a few.

The SXSW Sydney Games Festival unlocked 10 new titles out of its 120 independent upcoming and recently-released games set for the Sydney stage, including No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi, South Korea).

The unveiling of SXSW Sydney's 2024 initial lineup is the first of many announcements within the program. Check out the latest news at sxswsydney.com and explore open participation opportunities.

Join Us at SXSW Sydney 2024

Register to attend SXSW Sydney 2024 today to save up to $600. Get more event updates and secure your Sydney spot at sxswsydney.com.

SXSW Sydney 2024

SXSW Sydney 2023 – Photo by Jaimi Joy

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This new expansion of our event family is specifically dedicated to innovation and creativity in the Asia-Pacific region and takes place October 15-22, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. Gathering the world’s most inspired thinkers and creatives, SXSW Sydney will be an exploration of the best in Music, Screen, Gaming, Technology, and Innovation. Like SXSW in Austin, SXSW Sydney is a must-attend event for creators and professionals ready to discover what's next while seeking career-enhancing connections.

SXSW Sydney will feature more than 1,000 future-forward experiences, 700+ thought-provoking speakers, 300+ cutting-edge performances, 170+ thrilling game demos, and 200+ captivating screen events, including five exclusive gala premieres. Dive into the latest announcements and programming overview of this historic, inaugural event!

The SXSW Sydney Conference will feature over 700 inspiring speakers across keynotes, presentations, panels, workshops, and mentor sessions.

Joining AI expert and futurist Amy Webb as Headline Speakers are newly-announced Australian screen icon and Founder of Blossom Films Nicole Kidman; rapper, singer-songwriter, producer, and humanitarian Chance The Rapper; and Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker.

Hear from innovators and creatives at the top of their industries including Founder & CEO of Make Love Not Porn Cindy Gallop; AFL icon, Indigenous Defence & Infrastructure Consortium CEO Adam Goodes; Co-Founder and CTO of Slack Cal Henderson; Women’s Rights Activist Manal Al Sharif; Oscar-nominated actor Naomi Watts; and many more.

The SXSW Sydney Screen Festival includes feature films, shorts, TV premieres, music videos, and XR. Embracing the democratization of screen storytelling, this inaugural, future-focused celebration of film includes the World Premiere of Faraway Downs, Baz Luhrmann’s reimagined working of his epic Australia; documentary World Premiere of Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles; Australian Premiere of Emerald Fennell's Saltburn; Gabriel Gasparinatos's music documentary ONEFOUR: Against All Odds; Tim Barretto's Australian-made nod to 90’s nostalgia Bassendream; South Korea’s 2024 Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film, Concrete Utopia; Austin Smith's groundbreaking interactive film Lab Rat; and more.

A breadth of global talent are set to make their SXSW Sydney Music Festival debut appearance across 25 venues and over 300 performances. Acts include Indonesian experimental outfit Batavia Collective; NYC buzz electronic act Fcuckers; Brisbane band Girl and Girl; 13 year old First Nations rapper Inkabee; Japan's Otoboke Beaver, and many more. Plus Australian homegrown heroes Elle Shimada, dust, The Terrys, Vv Pete, Teenage Joans, Dulcie, Andrew Gurruwiwi Band, Rum Jungle, GO-JO, Mi-Kaisha, Death by Denim, These New South Whales, Cody Jon, and Aodhan.

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SXSW is heading southwest – about 8,464 miles in fact – to Sydney, Australia. From October 15-22, 2023, get ready to discover more unexpected ideas and diverse discussions at SXSW Sydney. This new expansion of our event family is specifically dedicated to innovation and creativity in the Asia-Pacific region with a series of conferences, festivals, an expo, and networking events.

Earlier this year, SXSW Sydney announced their initial program with Conference speakers, Music Festival acts, a Games Festival component, and participation opportunities. Today, SXSW Sydney unveiled their first Session Select submissions, a new Conference Featured Speaker Chris Lee aka Lee Sung-Soo, and lineup of local artists for the Music Festival portion.

Similar to SXSW's PanelPicker® intake process for community-sourced session ideas, SXSW Sydney’s inaugural Session Select program is made up of local and global talent, exploring and reshaping the very near and distant futures, answering tomorrow’s issues today. Newly-announced sessions include It’s 2050 and The Robots are Among Us; Thriving in the Future (of Work); Our Moonshots to Net Zero by 2030; Rage with The Machine: Harnessing AI creativity in Music and Songwriting; and many more. Explore the first round of SXSW Sydney Session Select proposals.

“We’ve received an unbelievable number of incredible sessions shortlisting them down to 300 for the conference is proving tough but what a great problem to have. The sessions presented today are just a taste of some of the incredible conversations at SXSW Sydney that will shape our future,” said Colin Daniels, SXSW Sydney Managing Director.

Sydney Session Select Announcement

Appearing as part of the event’s Music Industry Conference track, Chris Lee aka Lee Sung-soo is a South Korean music production director and CEO of SM Entertainment USA. As an A&R executive, Lee is credited with popularizing many K-pop stars, including Girls’ Generation, Shinee, Exo, Red Velvet, and more. Lee joins an already stellar lineup of SXSW Sydney Conference speakers.

The SXSW Sydney Music Festival also announced local artists including a dance project from Maxwell Byrne, 1tbsp; alt-pop collective Alter Boy; R&B and pop from western Sydney via New Jersey’s Ashli; Brisbane-born singer and songwriter Dean Brady; Perth alt-rock artist DICE; Darumbal Murri and Tongan vocalist Mi-Kaisha; alt-pop acoustic wonder Phoebe Go; punk-pop Adelaide two-piece Teenage Joans; London’s Nuha Ruby Ra; and more. Dr. Martens Presents and House of Vans will also join the Music Festival footprint in Sydney with respective performance hubs.

Want to take the Sydney stage? SXSW Sydney Music Festival applications are open through May 14 to musicians across the globe.

Also running through May 14, SXSW Sydney Screen Festival applications are open to all filmmakers and screen creatives.

Explore all confirmed programming at sxswsydney.com. Stay tuned for more announcements for SXSW Sydney 2023 throughout the year.

Join Us at SXSW Sydney 2023

Don't miss this special inaugural event from October 15-22, 2023 in Sydney, Australia! A SXSW Sydney badge provides access to the week-long conference, expo, festivals, and networking sessions, with each badge type granting varying levels of access. Platinum and Industry badges provide core access to more than 1,000 ground-breaking events and networking sessions with some of the world’s leading thinkers, performers, and industry professionals.

Learn more about SXSW Sydney and buy your badge today at sxswsydney.com.

SXSW Sydney is a collaboration with TEG, The NSW Government & Destination NSW, and will be the official annual Asia Pacific installment of SXSW.

Explore SXSW Sydney

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From Austin to the land Down Under, get ready for SXSW Sydney, a new event specifically dedicated to innovation and creativity in the Asia-Pacific region from October 15-22, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. We are thrilled to announce a first look at the 2023 Sydney lineup!

The inaugural SXSW Sydney program revealed the initial round of Conference speakers, first keynote speaker, Music Festival acts, event formats, participation opportunities, and more. Plus, registration is now open with special Early Bird badge rates. SXSW Sydney 2023 will see the Asia-Pacific’s pre-eminent creative industries converge across content pillars of Tech and Innovation, Gaming, Music, Screen, and Culture within a future-focused program.

A core part of the event is the SXSW Sydney Conference, taking place in multiple venues including ICC Sydney, UTS, The Powerhouse Museum and more. The Conference portion will feature over 400 keynotes, presentations, panels, workshops, and mentor sessions with inspiring thinkers and leaders. The Conference’s first keynote speaker, Amy Webb, is an American futurist, author, and CEO/Founder of the leading foresight and future strategy firm, Future Today Institute.

Today's newly-announced Featured Speakers include serial entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of Colossal, Ben Lamm; expert in the exploration of mammalian evolution, development, and reproductive technologies, Prof. Andrew Pask of the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne; Chief Evangelist of Canva and former Apple Chief Evangelist, Guy Kawasaki; Director of Content at Netflix, Que Minh Luu; co-founder of Baidam Solutions, a cyber security business based in Brisbane, Jack Reis; and Saudi women’s rights activist, author, podcast host, cyber security specialist and founder of the Ethical Technologists Society, Manal al-Sharif; to name a few. Explore the latest Conference announcements at sxswsydney.com and stay tuned for more.

Have an idea to share with creative communities across the Asia-Pacific region? Submit a proposal via SXSW Sydney's session proposal platform, Session Select. Open formats include solo presentations, panels, workshops, and meet-ups. Submissions close on February 28, 2023 at 11:59pm AEDT.

The SXSW Sydney Music Festival has also released the first international music acts for its 2023 program, with many more to be announced across the year. Making their debut Australian appearances at SXSW Sydney are American rapper-producer teenager redveil; Canadian new-wave breakthrough solo artist EKKSTACY; London-based quartet LOS BITCHOS; Nigerian-British indie-pop songwriter CONNIE CONSTANCE; and ferocious Japanese punk four-piece OTOBOKE BEAVER. Want to take the Sydney stage? SXSW Sydney Music Festival applications are open to musicians across the globe.

The SXSW Sydney Screen Festival will offer a future-focused program of film, episodic content, digital, XR and social content premieres, showcasing screen-culture’s diversity in the Asia-Pacific and beyond. From red carpet premieres to immersive screen experiences, Q&As and panel discussions with creators, and public access to world-leading screen ideas and perspectives. SXSW Sydney Screen Festival applications are open to all filmmakers and screen creatives.

Newly announced, the SXSW Sydney Games Festival will celebrate the future of the industry and embrace the power and potential of games. Over 100 local and international independent games will be playable across Showcase venues and the myriad other festival venues in the SXSW Sydney precinct.

"SXSW Sydney will be a complete game-changer for Sydney and the Asia Pacific. Locally, it will increase visitation and bolster the creative economy. Within APAC, it will facilitate a special connection between creative industries and businesses in the region – the kind that can lead to collaboration and innovation on a global scale. I can’t wait to see the opportunities flow on from October this year." – Geoff Jones, Chair, SXSW Sydney

Today's unveiling of SXSW Sydney's 2023 initial lineup is the first of many announcements within the program. Stay tuned!

Join Us at SXSW Sydney

This October, discover the unexpected ideas and diverse discussions SXSW Sydney makes possible when creative people come together.

SXSW Sydney is a collaboration with TEG, The NSW Government & Destination NSW, and will be the official annual Asia Pacific installment of SXSW. Join us for this special inaugural event at a great rate!

A SXSW Sydney badge provides access to the week-long conference, expo, festivals, and networking sessions, with each badge type granting varying levels of access. Platinum and Industry badges provide core access to more than 1,000 ground-breaking events and networking sessions with some of the world’s leading thinkers, performers, and industry professionals. Get your badge today at an Early Bird rate. Learn more and buy your badge today at sxswsydney.com.

Explore SXSW Sydney

The post SXSW Sydney Announces Initial Lineup for October 2023 appeared first on SXSW.

The SXSW Conference and Festivals is expanding beyond Austin, Texas to bring its famed celebration of the tech, film, and music industries to Sydney, Australia across seven days and nights from October 15-22, 2023.

Gathering the world’s most inspired thinkers and creatives, SXSW Sydney will be an exploration of the best in Music, Screen, Gaming, Technology, and Innovation. Like SXSW in Austin, SXSW Sydney will be a must-attend event for creators and professionals seeking to shape and discover future trends, emerging technology, and access unrivaled networking opportunities.

SXSW Sydney is a collaboration with TEG, The NSW Government & Destination NSW, and will be the official annual Asia Pacific installment of SXSW, which has taken place every March since 1987 in Austin, Texas.

“We couldn’t be more excited and honored to work with TEG and the New South Wales Government via Destination NSW on an event that brings to Australia the professional opportunities and unexpected discoveries that make SXSW unique," said Roland Swenson, CEO & Co-founder of SXSW. "The purpose of SXSW is to help creative people achieve their goals, and Sydney is the ideal city to serve as a home for the cross-collaboration that exists within the many industries we bring together."

“SXSW is an event without equal internationally that has launched the careers of so many creative professionals,” said Geoff Jones, Group CEO TEG, Event Producer for SXSW Sydney. “Through showcasing the creator industries of the Asia Pacific to the world, SXSW Sydney will establish a new SXSW touchpoint, enabling the international and cross-sector connections that deliver the most innovative products and content. I would like to welcome Colin Daniels as the Managing Director of SXSW Sydney and thank the NSW Government, Destination NSW, and the team at SXSW for their foresight and support."

Industry professionals, talent, partners and more can register their interest now at sxswsydney.com. Get ready for Sydney's take on the iconic SXSW event! Stay tuned for more information throughout the season.

SXSW Sydney

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