The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Austin (Austin Convention Center and venues citywide), TX · Texas
- Level
- Organizer
- Issued
- 2020-03-06 Mar. 6, 2020
- In force
- Mar. 6, 2020 (the notice's date)
- Functions reached
- Collection
- Professional and Information Services SEC-12
Operative words
Mayor Adler: "I've gone ahead and declared a local disaster in the city, and associated with that, have issued an order that effectively cancels South by Southwest for this year." Judge Eckhardt: "This is a decision based on expert medical opinion." Dr. Mark Escott (Austin Public Health): "After careful deliberation, there was no acceptable path forward that would mitigate the risk enough to protect our community." SXSW: "We are devastated to share this news with you. 'The show must go on' is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place."
The organizer's notice
KUT 90.5 (Austin), "Austin Cancels SXSW Amid COVID-19 Concerns" (Mar. 6, 2020), quoting Mayor Adler, Judge Eckhardt, Dr. Escott and SXSW's statement (text of the page rendered to PDF)
Notes
2020: Cancelled by governmental order: on Mar. 6, 2020 Mayor Steve Adler declared a local disaster and "issued an order that effectively cancels South by Southwest for this year"; Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt declared a county disaster the same day; SXSW then laid off a third of its full-time staff (KUT, Mar. 9, 2020) SXSW's own statement, "March 6, 2020: City of Austin Cancels SXSW March Events": "The City of Austin has cancelled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU. SXSW will faithfully follow the City's directions"; "As recently as Wednesday, Austin Public Health stated that 'there's no evidence that closing SXSW or any other gatherings will make the community safer.' However, this situation evolved rapidly, and we honor and respect the City of Austin's decision" (Ex. SEC-12-GM-101, P). 2021: SXSW Online, Mar. 16-20, 2021: "Introducing SXSW Online, a digital experience from March 16-20, 2021 including keynotes, Conference sessions, Music Festival showcases, Film Festival screenings, world-class networking" (organizer site as captured Mar. 2, 2021; Ex. SEC-12-GM-102, P). Usual dates: Mid-March (2020: Mar. 13-22, 2020; SXSW EDU Mar. 9-12). Scale: 2019: "an estimated $356 million and drew more than 400,000 attendees from across the globe" (KUT); Greyhill Advisors' analysis of SXSW 2019 "found an economic impact of $355.9 million". Venue orders 2020: MET-AUS-035, MET-AUS-036, MET-AUS-001, MET-AUS-003. Venue orders 2021: MET-AUS-017, MET-AUS-047, TX-029.