“After a three-year run, SXSW Sydney, the Australian offshoot of the music, film, tech and media conference, will not be returning in 2026. In a message posted on its website, SXSW Sydney confirmed that the event has been cancelled, in a further blow to the arts and culture scene in Australia that is reeling from”, — write: www.hollywoodreporter.com
In a message posted on its website, SXSW Sydney confirmed that the event has been cancelled, in a further blow to the arts and culture scene in Australia that is reeling from the calamitous cancellation of Adelaide Writers Week on Tuesday.
The Australian Financial Review reports that SXSW Sydney collapsed after the New South Wales government pulled its funding for the event after reviewing the 2025 edition. The organizers told the AFR that the event was a victim of the “changing global environment” that is buffeting global events, festivals and cultural programs.
“It’s bittersweet to be saying goodbye while the momentum is so high. We’re still celebrating the success of this past year,” the SXSW Sydney organizers said in a farewell message. They said that the cancellation came despite total attendance for the 2025 edition seeing a 15 percent year-on-year increase, with 345,000 attendees. The organizers added that the event had a “three-year cumulative economic impact of [AUD$276 million],” or $184 million.
Launched in 2023, SXSW Sydney was the first global expansion of Austin’s well-established SXSW, which has been running continuously since 1987. The AFR reports that the SXSW Sydney was initially backed by New South Wales’ government with $8 million of funding support (AUD$12 million).
Despite the closure of the Sydney event, SXSW still has an international presence with the launch of SXSW London in June 2025.
Penske Media, the owner of The Hollywood Reporterinvested in SXSW in April 2021 as part of what it described as a long-term partnership with the festival.
Read the full statement from the SXSW Sydney team.
Every great story has a final page, and it is with a heavy heart that we share that SXSW Sydney has reached its closing chapter and will not be returning in 2026.
It’s bittersweet to be saying goodbye while the momentum is so high. We’re still celebrating the success of this past year – one that saw total attendance of more than 345,000 (representing a 15% year-on-year increase) and cemented a three-year cumulative economic impact of $276 million.
To the tens of thousands of you who filled the halls of ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour, and surrounds over the past three years: thank you for being a part of the SXSW Sydney journey. You didn’t just attend an event; you came together to help us build a vibrant, global community that transformed the heart of our city every October.
While this chapter ends here, the connections made and the ideas sparked on our stages will continue to resonate. Thank you for making these past three years unforgettable.