AUSTIN, Texas – SXSW is making big changes for next year, including dropping the second weekend and shortening the festival to seven days instead of nine.
The 2026 event is also the festival’s 40th.
SXSW 2026
What we know:
Next year’s SXSW is set for March 12-18 in Austin, two days shorter than the 2025 event.
SXSW will also be running all three of its tracks (Conference, Film & TV Festival, and Music Festival) concurrently over those seven days.
The festival says this will give music fans the chance to enjoy seven nights of showcases instead of six and continue paring down the number of showcasing artists while spreading the shows out over a greater part of the event.
What’s next:
Badges for the SXSW 2026 festivals and conference are now on sale at a special low rate through March 31.
Badges for the three tracks (Interactive, Film & TV, and Music) are available as well as the platinum badge, which gives attendees access to all SXSW events.
Badges for the SXSW EDU conference, which is set for March 9-12, 2026, are also available for purchase.
For more information on SXSW 2026 badges, click here.
Austin Convention Center closure
Big picture view:
SXSW says the changes were prompted by the fact that the Austin Convention Center will be closing down soon.
The City of Austin is redeveloping and expanding the center as part of the Unconventional ATX project.
The convention center is expected to close in April 2025 and construction is scheduled to begin soon after and be completed by early 2029 for the spring festival season.
During construction, the city says events will take place at the Palmer Events Center and hotels throughout Austin.
Photo courtesy: City of Austin
By the numbers:
The entire redevelopment of the Austin Convention Center is expected to cost $1.6 billion, funded through Hotel Occupancy Tax and Convention Center revenues.
The center has also set aside an “unprecedented” $17.7 million investment in public art. Ten talented local artists will collaborate closely with architects and construction teams to seamlessly integrate art into the center’s design. Those artists will be announced in early 2025, with additional opportunities for public art expected to follow.
The new, larger center will nearly double the rentable square footage of the existing facility, growing from 365,000 square feet to 620,000 square feet.
The new convention center will also be the world’s first zero-carbon-certified convention center, as determined by the International Living Futures Institute.
The Source: Information in this report comes from SXSW and the city of Austin’s website on the Austin Convention Center.
SXSWAustin
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