The festival has run for three years in Sydney and drew an audience of 345,000 attendees in 2025 – 15 per cent up on the previous year.
This was not enough to keep the festival going however, with the media announcement revealing the end of the event citing “a changing global environment that is impacting major events, festivals and cultural programs worldwide” and “prevailing market conditions” as reasons it won’t return.
According to the announcement, the festival worked closely with the NSW Government, who has a strategic partner of the event, and its international owners, Penske Media Corporation, to “explore potential pathways” for the event.
“SXSW Sydney was an unforgettable three-year journey, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the people who joined us for it,” said SXSW Sydney’s co-managing directors, Simon Cahill and Jono Whyman.
“We are especially grateful to the SXSW Sydney team for their dedication and hard work in bringing this event to life and establishing a platform that showcased Australia and the Asia Pacific as pioneers in global culture.”
According to the festival, it generated an estimated $276 million in economic impact over three years and attracted 63,000 out-of-region attendees.
“SXSW Sydney represented an ambitious and meaningful extension of the SXSW brand, and we are incredibly proud of what was built in partnership with the Sydney team, Destination NSW, and the broader creative community,” said Jenny Connelly, the director in charge of SXSW at owner Penske Media Corporation.
“Over three years, SXSW Sydney demonstrated the power of convening global innovators, creatives and leaders, and created a platform that elevated voices from Australia and the Asia Pacific region onto the world stage.
“While the event will not proceed in 2026, we are grateful for the collaboration, creativity and commitment that defined SXSW Sydney.”
In 2025, SXSW Sydney won best conference at the Australian Business Events Awards and best large conference at the Australian Event Awards.
The original SXSW festival in Austin continues in 2026. Sydney was the first international iteration of the event although there is now a SXSW London which had its first edition in 2025 and is going ahead with a second edition in 2026.
