South by Southwest Is Canceled Due to Coronavirus, Including Talks by Ozzy Osbourne, Trent Reznor and More

2020-03-07

Ozzy Osbourne publicity photo – Story by Kevin Toby

One of the biggest music, film and culture festivals in the U.S., South by Southwest, has been canceled due to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus

Following a slew of acts and companies dropping out of the 2020 South by Southwest festival due to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus, the annual music, film and culture festival in Austin, Texas, has been canceled. The festivals was scheduled to take place from March 13th through 22nd.

“The City of Austin has cancelled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU,” a statement from the festival reads. “SXSW will faithfully follow the City’s directions.”

“We are devastated to share this news with you,” the statement adds. “‘The show must go on’ is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation.”

Prior to the festival being cancelled, some of the companies that had already pulled out included Apple, Netflix and WarnerMedia, and talks were recently cancelled by Ozzy Osbourne, Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Beastie Boys.

But not all is lost. The crew behind South by Southwest say they are “exploring options” to reschedule the festival or somehow take it online.

“We will continue to work hard to bring you the unique events you love,” the festival states. “Though it’s true that our March 2020 event will no longer take place in the way that we intended, we continue to strive toward our purpose — helping creative people achieve their goals.”