SXSW Sydney has revealed part of its program lineup including first speakers, events and badge details. Its Australian debut will connect creatives across tech, culture, music, gaming and more in this weeklong event. This will be the festival’s first outing outside of Austin, Texas with over 400 events on the cards. Set to showcase the tremendous creative talent in the Asia Pacific region, the festival organisers gave a glimpse of what to expect at the mammoth event including a few keynote speakers, musicians and more.
SXSW Sydney
Author and CEO/Founder of Future Today Institute, Amy Webb, will be the first keynote speaker at the event. Other featured speakers include Guy Kwasaki, Chief Evangelist of Canva, Ben Lamm and Professor Andrew Pask from Colossal and University of Melbourne respectively, Saudi women’s rights activist Manal al-Sharif, Kyas Hepworth of Screen NSW and BAFTA-winning Sam Barlow of Half Mermaid Productions. Plus hear from Larissa Behrendt from the University of Technology, Sydney, Rohit Bhargava from The Non-Obvious Company, Q-CTRL CEO and founder Michael Biercuk and Netflix director of content for Australia and New Zealand, Que Minh Luu among many others.
Aside from the talks, if music is more your thing, you’ll want to watch out for SXSW Sydney Music Festival. The first international performing acts include English singer and songwriter, Connie Constance, playing in Australia for the very first time, Ekkstacy all the way from Canada, Otoboke Beaver, a punk rock band from Kyoto and American rapper Redveil with more names to be announced in the coming months.
The fest also revealed that events would take place within the Sydney CBD and surrounding neighbourhoods like Haymarket, Darling Harbour, Ultimo, Chippendale and more.
Also on the horizon is the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival with red carpet premieres, immersive screen experiences and more in the offing and the newly announced SXSW Sydney Gaming Festival, with 100 local and international independent games to be played along with demonstrations, product launches, hands-on play, stage sessions, performances and more.
The highly-anticipated tech event is predicted to inject millions into the NSW economy and attract over 27,000 visitors. If you’re keen to get in on the action, tickets or Badges are on sale now with a 30% offer on early bird tickets.
SXSW Sydney will run from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22 across a number of Sydney venues. Get more information here.