Last year, South by Southwest (SXSW) Conferences and Festivals expanded its efforts from Austin, Texas to Sydney, Australia as the official Asia-Pacific installment, bringing together tech, film and music industries. SXSW Sydney edition will return for its sophomore year from October 14–20, 2024 in three key venues: ICC Sydney, Novotel Sydney (Darling Square), and UTS Building 8 in Sydney, Australia.
With a mission to empower APAC creative communities, SXSW Sydney consists of seven-days of Conferences, a Tech & Innovation Expo, and Music, Screen and Games Festivals. Solidifying Sydney as the Asia-Pacific’s creative hub, SXSW Sydney will host over 1,000+ world-class speakers covering the most timely and relevant topics of today, as well as 60+ tech exhibitors, 200+ artists from over 15 countries, 120+ games from over 30 countries, and 75+ screenings across five cinemas.
A new wave of speakers, sessions and professional development opportunities for the 2024 event have been announced including Global CEO of Ogilvy Devika Bulchandani, TV/film icon and director Lucy Lawless, venture capitalist and Canva board member Wesley Chan, MIT Technology Review CEO Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau, Wasserman booking legends Marty Diamond and Larry Webman, iconic Indian composer and musician A.R. Rahman, and more.
Previously announced speakers include New York Times bestselling author of Stolen Focus Johann Hari, human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, Australian Astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, world-renowned futurist Ryan Patel, Global Head of Business Marketing at TikTok Sofia Hernandez, trend curator and founder of Non-Obvious Rohit Bhargava, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy, Google DeepMind researcher Clare Bycroft, Colossal CEO Ben Lamm, Australian actor Luke Hemsworth, Razer co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan, Yosemite founder Reed Jobs, LuckyChap co-founder Josey McNamara, WME’s global head of touring Lucy Dickins, and many more.
With over 135 artists confirmed from 13 countries, SXSW Sydney Music Festival has also announced UK pop sensation Jorja Smith and the first Indonesian band to play Glastonbury Voice of Baceprot. New this year, SXSW Sydney expands its 2024 focus to India, one of the most exciting countries in the world right now for import, export and cultural impact. “+91 Calling!”, a single-day showcase of Indian creative culture will bring the energy to the Tumbalong Park Main Stage on Sunday 20 October, featuring six acts from India and the Indian diaspora with genres spanning hip-hop, pop, R&B, club and neo-classical.
The SXSW Sydney Screen Festival will give audiences a week of inspiring, bold and genre defying storytelling, with over 75 screenings across five cinemas, including an expanded episodic program showcasing the best of the APAC television and streaming market. Feature Films announced include Damon Gameau’s powerful and hopeful documentary Future Council, following him and eight kids on a European road trip to tackle the climate crisis, The Most Australian Band Ever!, documenting the rise of 80s Aussie punk band the Hard-Ons, S/He Is Still Her/e: The Official Genesis P-Orridge from trans activist and AGAINST ME! Singer, Laura Jane Grace.
Attendees can also see live commentaries from director Warwick Thornton (The New Boy, Samson and Delilah) and composer Jed Kurzel (The Babadook), a Q&A with LuckyChap’s Josey McNamara (Barbie, Saltburn), and insights from Pixar’s Mark Andrews on his upcoming projects. More of the Screen program, including its Headline films will be revealed throughout September.
The SXSW Sydney Games Festival has added 60 new games to the 2024 Games Showcase, bringing the total to 120+ games, making it the biggest live showcase of indie games in Australia. Highlights include Screenbound (Crescent Moon Games, US), Pie in the Sky (Monster Shop Games, WA), GRUNN (Sokpop Collective, Netherlands) and Gurei (Lobo Sagaz Studio, Brazil). Dan Clancy will make his first public speaking appearance in Australia since becoming Twitch CEO, sharing his hard-won insights on the creator economy and what it takes to build and nurture online communities. Clancy joins a stacked games track lineup alongside other key industry players including Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan, sustainable game studio Strange Scaffold’s Creative Director Xalavier Nelson Jr. and Pacific Drive’s lead narrative designer Karrie Shao.
For more information and to view the full list of speakers, sessions, artists, films, games, professional development, and experiences announced so far, visit sxswsydney.com. Download the SXSW Sydney app and start building your schedule today.
SXSW Sydney badges and wristbands are on sale now at sxswsydney.com/attend. The next price rise is August 30, secure your spot before this date to save up to $400.
Plan your SXSW Sydney 2024 trip now, visit sydney.com. NSW Government is a proud partner of SXSW Sydney through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
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Source: SXSW Sydney, SXSW
