In case you missed it, the annual South by Southwest Sydney (SXSW Sydney) event is returning to the harbour city this October. The beloved Austin-born event held its inaugural Sydney instalment in 2023 — notching up a huge 97,462 unique Sydney attendees — and will be back with another stellar program kicking off later this year.
Here's everything you need to know about it.
What is SXSW Sydney?
Get ready for a very packed seven days of big ideas. Taking place from October 14 to 20, the week-long event will see some of the most brilliant, creative and exciting thinkers working across music, tech, innovation, gaming, film and so much more. They're all coming together for the seven-day festival filled with inspiring talks, workshops and panels across Sydney’s CBD and surrounds, on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.
With names in last year’s program including A-listers like Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts (!!!), plus Chance the Rapper, Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm, Coachella Co-Founder Paul Tollett and more — the organisers had their work cut out for them for 2024's bill. But, having already made some impressive lineup announcements so far (expected to grow further as we get closer to the event), we'll safely make the call that we’re in for another excellent year.
The big stats: 2024's lineup will span over 1,000 speakers, 100 musicians, 150 games (the largest indie showcase in Australia!) and 75 screenings across five cinemas.
Who is on the SXSW Sydney 2024 schedule?
By now you’re probably wondering who is actually on the schedule. And hoo boy, there are some pretty big, interesting names you’ll want to catch live. So let me break it down for you.
There'll be a heap of featured speakers, including brilliant minds like astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Courtney Act, TikTok executive Sofia Hernandez, Australian Cricketer David Warner, ecological expert Chris Ewing of Taronga Conservation, The Iconic CEO Jere Calmes and Esther Nguyen, owner of POPS Worldwide, plus so many more.
Come for the…
If you’re always searching your next music obsession, attending SXSW Sydney Musical Festival is essential for scoping out new music talent and seeing stars on the rise. And while there’ll be some familiar names on the lineup, like Heartbreak High multi-hyphenate Ayesha Madon and English singer-songwriter Jorja Smith, it’s also the perfect opportunity to catch new acts you might never have seen before.
Not sure who to see? Start familiarising yourself with the musicians on the lineup on your morning commute. Or, if you just want to catch a couple of local acts, I suggest getting front row at all-female punk band The Buoys, immersing yourself in Maina Doe’s silky smooth vocals, and catching rising hit maker Vetta Borne as a start.
For the music lovers, there'll also be NT brothers J-MILLA and Yung Milla, 404, SAHXL, Friends of Friends, Nick Ward, Ena Mori, Smol fish and plenty more.
If you're a screen fan, come for the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival, featuring a long lineup of short flicks to add to your calendar like Make Me a Pizza (USA), Fishtank (China/USA), Vivie (New Zealand) and Meat Puppet (UK).
There'll also be an array of premieres, music videos and more to wrap your eyes around. You can get inspired in sessions with acclaimed filmmaking talent including LuckyChap producer Josey McNamara who’ll open up about the company's recent successes with films like Barbie, Saltburn, and Promising Young Woman.
Plus, gamers can expect Blood Reaver, FRUITBUS, Curiosmos, Mystiques, Demon Spore, Hyper Light Breaker, Window Garden and a ton more from the Games Festival, with many showcasing from the US, UK, China, Belgium, Norway, South Korea and the Philippines. Here, you can also meet like-minded people and get amongst hands-on demos, live play and launches — a must-see to know what’s on the horizon for gaming.
For even more candid conversations, a recommendation from the Mamamia team is also to head along to 36 Months: Raising the Threshold For Social Media Citizenship — a panel that will discuss raising the age of social media use, with Australia's own Hamish Blake and Maggie Dent on the bill.
Stay for the…
There are plenty of inspiring international keynote speakers you’ll definitely want to catch, like New York Times best-selling author, Johann Hari — author of Magic Pill and Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention.
Alongside Hari will be impressive human rights lawyer, Jennifer Robinson whose former clients include the likes of Amber Heard and Julian Assange.
SXSW Sydney’s Technology & Innovation exhibitions also earn big points for staying power. These will showcase emerging technology and ideas that could be the next thing to change the way we live, work and play, giving you a glimpse into the future. If you’re a lady startup yourself (or an aspiring one), make sure you head to Startup Village. You'll be able to rub shoulders with forward-thinking business owners and learn how they’re making waves in their respective industries.
Other sessions worth the stay in this year’s lineup are Redefining Success: Beyond the 1% including 7X World Champion and mental wellness advocate Layne Beachley, and Better than a Hollywood Movie: The highs, lows, epic moments, and colossal steps forward in bringing back the Tasmanian Tiger moderated by a Hemsworth! Luke Hemsworth to be exact.
Okay, what's the practical stuff I need to know?
To attend SXSW Sydney you'll need to get yourself sorted with a badge, which is the ticketing system that the event uses. Essentially, there are different types of badges to get with different badge levels granting you different access to events taking place at the week-long conference, festivals, networking sessions and expo.
Wristbands are also available, giving you access to a selection of Music, Games and Screen Festival programming.
The main thing you’ll want to keep in mind is the pricing. The sooner you buy your badge, the cheaper it is. Currently, the badges are on sale at the second release price. So, if you want to secure your badge at that price and save you up to $400, make sure you make your purchase your badge before the price goes up on Friday, August 30.
To help figure out which badge will get you to the sessions you’d like to attend, check out the badge option here.
Check out the SXSW Sydney 2024 Schedule and buy your badge to attend before prices rise on August 30 to save you up to $400.
Feature Image: Jaimi Joy/Instagram/@courtneyact/@ayeshamadon.