South by Southwest London has announced that its inaugural festival will take place on June 2-7, 2025 in Shoreditch, East London.
SXSW London is the first European edition of SXSW, a global platform to celebrate the convergence of creativity, culture and innovation. SXSW London builds on the success of the global festival in Austin, Texas and the expansion to Sydney, Australia.
SXSW London is expected to attract more than 20,000 attendees to its cross-cultural and tech programming.
It is estimated that it will generate more than £75 million in direct economic benefits according to newly released Nielsen data, a figure which organisers expect to increase as additional programmes for community and industry engagement are developed.
SXSW London will feature initiatives for workforce development including partnerships with independent and community-led venues throughout the festival’s Shoreditch campus. Organisers are also planning a skills development programme that goes beyond the festival dates, in order to create a lasting legacy and pathway for young people into creative industries.
These initiatives will feature alongside the range of tech, music and screen programming for SXSW, as well as an increased focus on arts and culture programming that will bring a distinct flavour to the London edition.
There will also be an opportunity for the SXSW London community to have a significant voice in programming conference activities. Artists, thought leaders and industry professionals will be encouraged to submit their ideas and work for consideration for the SXSW programming team via a platform to be launched in the autumn.
Bringing SXSW to the streets of Shoreditch will allow us to create a festival like no other
Randel Bryan
The festival also continues to build out its senior team with the announcement of additional new hires.
Clare Morris, former Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity marketing lead, will join SXSW London in September as director of marketing and communications. She has experience as a marketing strategist across global brands in media, entertainment, events and consumer products at Universal Pictures, ITV Studios and Samsung.
Anna Bogutskaya has joined as head of screen. She has programming and production experience from the film industry, having worked with the BFI, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, El Deseo, and Underwire Festival, among others. During her role at the BFI, she oversaw events and programming.
Beth Greenacre has joined as visual arts advisor. Greenace was previously curator of the David Bowie collection and worked with the music icon until his death. She co-curated numerous exhibitions including Sound and Vision as part of Bowie’s Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall in 2002, as well as Bloc at County Hall, 2005 and The Window Pane Project at Tower Records, Piccadilly.
Randel Bryan, SXSW London’s managing director said: “A shorter date format relative to SXSW in Austin will allow SXSW London to run its conference, music, screen and arts programmes at the same time, ensuring accessibility to multiple programming formats and diverse networking opportunities for attendees from different industries. Bringing SXSW to the streets of Shoreditch will allow us to create a festival like no other, one that unfolds across incredible indoor spaces whilst also showcasing creativity and artistic experiences in unique public spaces, allowing us to capture the energy and excitement of the summer.”
Clare Morris, director of marketing and communications at SXSW London, said: "SXSW London is dream job territory for me and I am truly excited to join this talented team and bring this culture-defining brand to Europe."
Anna Bogutskaya, head of screen at SXSW London, said: “Having made London my home, I'm so excited to be a part of bringing the SXSW energy to the city. SXSW London is going to be the biggest creative playground in Europe for filmmakers, musicians, artists and creatives. I'm beyond grateful to be a part of the stellar team shaping the festival and to be given the opportunity to curate films, series and conversations.”
Beth Greenacre, visual arts advisor at SXSW London, said: “With a deep-rooted interest in the convergence of visual art and music, I'm thrilled to be joining SXSW London as Visual Arts Advisor and working with the team to showcase artists who embrace connections between sound and visual art, and who explore the opportunities that technological innovation has afforded their practices.”
FOLLOW 
