Historical & Current Events dictionary
SXSW
or South by Southwest or South by or SX [ south bahy south-west ]
What is SXSW?
SXSW (South by Southwest) is an annual event in Austin, Texas, featuring multiple festivals, including music, film, and comedy, as well as exhibitions and a conference for professionals in creative and interactive industries.
The abbreviation SXSW is read as South by Southwest (it’s not pronounced as S-X-S-W). It’s often called South by for short (abbreviated SX).
SXSW is billed as a convergence of professionals and innovators in a variety of fields for the sake of networking, idea-sharing, and discovery. The multi-day event includes concerts, screenings, gaming events, speaker panels and Q&As, workshops, product exhibitions, and networking and other professional events.
An offshoot of SXSW is SXSW EDU, an education conference featuring a mix of events focused on technology and innovation in education.
⚡️When is SXSW?
SXSW takes place in March each year. The event typically lasts around five days, but is sometimes longer.
SXSW 2024 will be held from March 8–16. SXSW EDU 2024 will take place from March 4–7.
Where does SXSW come from?
SXSW began in 1987 as a music festival to promote Austin musicians. In 1994, film and interactive media events were added to the lineup. Since then, SXSW has continued to attract a diverse lineup of events and attractions from the fields of entertainment, technology, and others.
The name of SXSW was inspired by the title of the film North by Northwest.
Examples of SXSW
More information and context on SXSW
Did you know … ?
- The first SXSW drew around 700 attendees. In recent years, the event has been attended by more than 250,000 people.
- Until 2017, different branches of SXSW were held separately, requiring separate tickets and badges.
- Cuisine exhibitions and events have become a popular part of SXSW.
What are other words used in discussion of SXSW?
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of SXSW like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of SXSW that will help our users expand their word mastery.