SXSW Sydney unveils plans for more accessible 2025 event
SXSW Sydney has shared plans designed to make its event more accessible for people.
The announcement:
South by Southwest Sydney® (SXSW Sydney) today unveiled plans to ensure a wider range of people are able attend, and can tailor their experience to match their interests and schedule.
Attendees will be able to choose from free events with broad appeal, Conference Day Passes, single movie screenings and Festival Wristbands, right up to all-access 7-day Passes which will be $400 less than offered in 2024 during early bird release, on sale from March 20.
- The new, limited Conference Day Pass starts at $295 for 75+ daily sessions across Tech & Innovation, Business & Leadership, Marketing & Media, Future & Sustainability, Culture & Lifestyle and Creative Industries.
- Full-week Conference and Festival access this year starts from $495, demonstrating a clear commitment to opening the event to a broader audience, and include hands-on professional development to upskill attendees.
Alongside the Conference Sessions and Festival Showcases, professional development programs have been extended, workshops, mentor sessions and networking meetups designed to foster innovation, leadership, and career growth.
- Conference led professional development will cover AI and entrepreneurship, governance, marketing, leadership and more, providing practical skills, expert insights, and meaningful connections, to tackle the big questions.
- The Screen Festival will include seminars, film commentaries and matchmade mentoring to connect early- and mid-career filmmakers with industry vets. Covering technical filmmaking, funding, marketing, the festival circuit, audiences and more, it will provide insider insights, in an in-the-room and off-the-record environment.
- The Music Festival program will focus on future business, upskilling artists and professionals at all levels with a series of panels, workshops and mentor sessions on the topics of AI, new markets, careers and marketing trends.
- The Games Festival’s professional development will focus on investment and business development skills and global markets to empower indie game developers to find ongoing success commercially, as well as creatively.
SXSW Sydney is also expanding its free programming significantly with extensive brand and partner experiences already planned, alongside must-see music showcases from Wednesday to Saturday, and new for 2025, free access to the Innovation Expo on Saturday, and free family-friendly entertainment all day on Sunday—all in and around Darling Harbour.
Also new for 2025, single-session movie tickets ($25) will be available for all film screenings, alongside multi-day Festival Wristbands ($100 during early bird), for either the Screen, Music or Games Festival Showcases.
SXSW Sydney 2024 featured 1,600 sessions and events, including 400+ conference sessions, 150+ professional development sessions, 300+ music performances, 95 film screenings, 150 games, more than 400 brand-led events, while attracting over 300,000 attendees from 56 countries. SXSW Sydney 2025 promises to elevate the event experience even further, with both Conference and Festival submissions tracking 20% higher year on year, from predominantly new contributors.
Conference Submissions remain open until March 23rd, with Public Voting on potential Conference Sessions opening March 17th. For more information or to apply to submit to the Conference or Festivals, visit www.sxswsydney.com.
SXSW Sydney is delivered in Partnership with the NSW Governmentthrough its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. Plan your SXSW Sydney 2025 trip now, visit sydney.com.
Source: TEG
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
