SXSW cancels its 400K-person conference due to coronavirus
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/06/sxsw-cancelled/
SXSW has officially announced it will cancel its tech and music conference slated for March 13th to 22nd in Austin, TX due to concerns around coronavirus, though it’s exploring rescheduling. “Based on the recommendation of our public health officer and our director of public health . . . I’ve gone ahead and declared a local disaster in the city and associated with that, have issued an order that effectively cancels SXSW” said Austin Mayor Steve Adler at a press conference today.
SXSW writes that it will follow the Mayor’s order and cancel its conference. “We are exploring options to reschedule the event and are working to provide a virtual SXSW online experience as soon as possible for 2020 participants, starting with SXSW EDU. For our registrants, clients, and participants we will be in touch as soon as possible and will publish an FAQ.” It’s unclear if attendees or sponsors will receive refunds.